Relative
by Asher Tye
Summary: Happiness is personal, and good news is often relative. For an orphan who's lost his parents, what is a kindness in other's minds can be heartbreaking. A TailsN.I.C.O.L.E. Oneshot.
1. Chapter 1

Relative  
by Asher Tye

Disclaimer: If I owned Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the characters, I'd be a much happier person. Sadly I do not, but Sega/Archie does (depending on the character) so hopefully they won't begrudge me using their characters for a non-profit story.

Author's Note: Just a little one-shot. I'm thinking of classifying it as a Tails/N.I.C.O.L.E. story (how many of those do you see). This is my first angst story, so be gentle please in your reviews.

Timeline: Based in the SatAM universe where all the elements would (hopefully) still exist. It probably also will contain elements of the SegaSonic universe. Takes place maybe a year or a year and a half after the fall of Robotnik and the freeing of planet Mobius.

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"Miles, perhaps it is time for a break." It was said with as much kindness and sensitivity as N.I.C.O.L.E. could put in her digitized voice. Though the little computer's A.I. programming had evolved phenomenally over the course of her years with the Freedom Fighters, her hardware was a different story, and it often made her feel something akin to frustration when she could not put the emotions in her voice that she held in her digital heart. But, such was the price one paid when one was made of technology so advanced no one currently had the means to replicate it, let alone create upgrades for.

"Shut… Up!!" The two words were said in such a venomous growl that N.I.C.O.L.E. might have done a double take, had she a head and face, or the capacity to be surprised at the attitude anymore. An angry scowl showed on the face of one Miles Prower, former Freedom Fighter and child prodigy of Knothole, telling her to drop the subject. As essentially a hand held device, it would be quite literally child's play for the twelve year old kit to hurl the small computer out of his work area. While such a task wouldn't damage her, and would provide the boy with a break from his exertions, it would also mean N.I.C.O.L.E. would no longer be able to keep an eye on the kit as Sally had asked her to do, a task that was becoming more and more necessary with each passing day.

A small green light shot out from N.I.C.O.L.E., a scanning beam that allowed the small computer to take stock of her foxy friend's physical condition. What she found was distressing to say the least. Where once the foxling's coat had been soft, shiny, and full, it was now coarse and dull, with patches missing here and there. His body was thin and frail looking, lacking all resemblance to the well fed child he had been not but a few months ago. His nose was dry, and raw from constant rubbing, and black bags rested almost serenely under the kit's once bright blue eyes. A slight cough came from the young Prower's lips as he hunkered over the computer control chair, the same chair that, not but a year and a half ago, Robotnik himself had sat in as he began his last desperate and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to stop the Freedom Fighters from finally toppling his empire.

Though it had been eighteen months since the maniacal madman's defeat, Mobius and its population was still celebrating, even as they rebuilt fair Mobotropolis from the ruined husk that was Robotropolis. Warehouses and factories had been torn down and replaced with fresh new housing and even small store fronts and stands. The wounded earth, so long mistreated by the foul doctor, was steadily being nurtured and healed as plants were encouraged to once more take root in the timid soil. Even the skies, once blackened by the constant barrage of smog, soot, and smoke from Robotnik's factories, were beginning to clear and open for sunlight to shine down on the slowly but steadily reviving city. At the core of her memory, N.I.C.O.L.E. knew that the full impact of the ecological damage perpetrated by the not-so-good doctor would never fully be healed, and most likely have to be dealt with by the Mobians for generations to come, but for now it was a cheery change. Unfortunately, not all of the damage done could so easily fall into the category "out of sight, out of mind," as N.I.C.O.L.E. could see first hand.

"Dammit! It's another dead end!" Tails swore as he slammed his fists into the computer console, swearing again as he grabbed one of his wrists in pain. Had the scrawny fox been Robotnik, the force of his strike might have damaged the delicate equipment. A quick scan of the wrist revealed the reverse had occurred, and Tails would no doubt need to have his wrist looked at by a doctor, a scenario that, however necessary it might be, was also unlikely at the present. Thus was why Sonic and Sally were currently worrying themselves into an early grave over their now seemingly self-destructive ward.

It had started out wonderfully. Robotnik was gone; Robotropolis had fallen into the Freedom Fighter's hands. Celebration and merriment like nothing Mobius had ever seen had ruled the day for nearly two weeks. With the threat of capture and roboticization removed, a population driven into hiding by fear and tyranny had come out, offering up their most heartfelt thanks to the children who had spent their youths fighting a menace they should never have been responsible dealing with. Magnanimous in victory, the Freedom Fighters had refused to allow such thoughts and accusations to sully the moment, and had simply enjoyed the revelry. Once the first party had concluded, the Princess, once more assuming a position of command, led her people into conquered Robotropolis. It had been simple for N.I.C.O.L.E. to disable the city's defenses, particularly with the help of Rotor and Tails and the lack of Robotnik trying to repair the damage. It had also proven unnecessary as, from out of Robotnik's Command Center had walked Sir Charles Hedgehog, Sonic's uncle.

Claiming himself the last fully functional and present member of the former dictator's regime, the robotic hedgehog declared it his duty to give the official surrender of the city to the Freedom Fighters. Laughter had abounded that day as Uncle Chuck performed a comical rendition of surrendering, even going so far as to walk forth of his knees to offer a twisted mockery of a key to the city to Princess Sally. Sally had smiled benevolently as she accepted Uncle Chuck's "surrender" and officially pardon he and all worker-bots for any crimes they may have committed while under Dr. Robotnik's control, the only part of the farce that was intended to be real. It was then that the noble hedgehog turned to his nephew and offered one last surprise, a "gift" he felt sure the deposed doctor would have wanted him to have with all the "goodness" of his heart. Sonic had, predictably, laughed at that notion, fully expecting this to be some new good natured prank by his uncle. Even now N.I.C.O.L.E. couldn't help but reflect on how wrong he was.

From out of the darkness of the Command Center, two figures emerged, the pale light of day shining on their metallic spines. Sonic was caught speechless as he stared at the roboticized forms of Jules and Bernie Hedgehog, his parents. Found by Uncle Chuck as quickly as Robotropolis had fallen and freed from their control circuits, the two elder hedgehogs smiled as their heroic son approached them cautiously, unsure if they would evaporate before their very eyes. Tears had fallen from the teenaged Freedom Fighters face as he fell into an embrace with his parents, both of whom offered words of kindness and expressions of pride towards the son they'd missed grow up into such a fine young man. And behind it all, Tails watched.

It was, perhaps, poetic justice that of all the families torn asunder by Robotnik in his mad drive for power, Sonic's was the first to be reunited; but it certainly wasn't the last. Access to Robotnik's mainframe had provided information on the location and identity of every worker-bot in the city, all of whom were joyously freed and reunited with their own worried loved ones. Though Robotnik had done his best to hide the information, perhaps hoping to use it as a bargaining chip should he survive his loss, the Freedom Fighters were proving adept enough to counter all of his security measures and find the missing roboticized Mobians. Again and again N.I.C.O.L.E. bore witness to the happy events as children, siblings, and parents came together again, the only downside being the as yet unfinished deroboticizer making it impossible for the freed workers to leave their robotic shells. Soon the worker-bot population of Robotropolis had been depleted, and the Freedom Fighters turned their attentions to Robotnik's other holdings, using his computer to match cold serial numbers and uniform mechanical features to living faces and rightful names. And still, Tails did watch.

In hindsight, N.I.C.O.L.E. wondered if she should have seen this coming. She may have been something of a neophyte when it came to the subject of emotions, and indeed reading other people was not her strong suit, but still it seemed illogical that no one had seen it coming. Replaying her memory now, she could clearly see the pattern Tails's deteriorating state of mind as it developed, obfuscated in the ambient good cheer and happiness of the time.

He'd remained helpful, and outwardly cheerful as the world he had been denied was slowly put back together. Though there were stumbling blocks, Robotnik had left plenty of booby-traps and had hidden far too many of his holdings, the now free Mobians had been steadfast in their efforts to reclaim their lives, and Tails had been there. And yet, as everyone else's dreams came true around him, the young fox remained alone, his own wishes unfulfilled.

It wasn't as though the kit lacked attention. Sally, Sonic, Rotor, Bunnie, and even Antoine continued to watch out for the boy, and as a member of the group that had saved their world, he did not lack for well-wishers and friendly Mobians willing to offer him a hand. The trouble came from the fact that none of them could offer Tails what he had desperately, still desperately, desired. More and more the kit began to lose interest in the celebrations and become more focused on the task of finding missing worker-bots with Sally while Rotor perfected his deroboticizer. More and more he began to sequester himself away from the populace, often times working on the mainframe late into the night. Then it had happened.

It had been done with the best of intentions, and saved for what was hoped to be the perfect occasion. A little more than a year after the success of their last mission against Robotnik, Sonic and Sally had decided to tie the knot. The news had been received very well by the citizens of Mobotropolis indeed, not only would they be getting a new King, he would be the great hero of the rebellion against Robotnik. A full blown engagement party had been held at the newly rebuilt Castle Acorn, where everyone from Knothole and knew the guests of honor had been invited to attend.

It was beautiful. Though the resources to decorate were nearly non-existent, Bunnie, Antoine, and Rotor had pulled out all the stops to get the still somewhat drab building looking festive and happy. There had been congratulatory speeches and well-wishes from everyone invited as Sonic and Sally had descended the stairs as a couple, smiles on their faces as their prepared even more good news for one of the revelers in particular.

"Thank you, thank you everyone," Sally had said, smiling and waving with one arm as she held onto her new, blue fiancé with her other one.

"Thanks, thanks a lot," Sonic had called as he had mimicked his squirrelly companion as well.

"We thank you for your kind wishes and words of encouragement," Sally had begun, "but we have something else to announce as well." The Princess turned her attentions to a somewhat tired and semi-reluctant reveler holding a cup of punch and sporting two bushy tails. The fox turned to the female he'd long considered his aunt, a well-meaning smile on his face that did little in N.I.C.O.L.E.'s opinion to hide the fact that there was something else he would have rather been doing. He was here because he was a friend to both the bride and groom-to-be and he wanted to wish them well. Even so, no one had worked harder on the worker-bot reclamation project harder than Tails, not even N.I.C.O.L.E., and he was very eager to get back to the job. Now, however the young fox found himself the center of attention in what was supposed to be his friends' party.

Sonic and Sally smiled at their youngest friend pleasantly, smiles of warmth and happiness, a happiness they fully intended to share with the young kit.

"Tails honey, Sonic and I have something to ask you," Sally had said to the fox kit. To her side, Sonic shot the boy a goofy grin and a thumbs up, clearly pleased with himself. "We've been discussing this for some time, even before we planned on getting married Tails, but we wanted your opinion too before we did anything, especially with Mobotropolis finally getting back to normal."

"What are you talking about, Aunt Sally?" Tails queried, adopting his cute boy routine for the benefit of his two friends.

"You're important to us kid," Sonic stated. "Always have been, always will be. Ever since we brought ya to Knothole."

"Now that the war is over, though, things are changing, among them what can and cannot be allowed. All around us children have been brought back together with their parents and guardians, families have been reunited. And this is partially the reason we've come to this decision." Tails looked at the two suspiciously, curious as to why the duo were acting so odd now. Sally knelt to one knee before her furry little charge, grabbing hold of his narrow shoulders, a benevolent smile on her face as she stared into his eyes. "Tails, Sonic and I have decided that we want to adopt you. Officially. That means when Sonic and I are married in a month, you would legally be our son." As she spoke, Sally's eyes closed in a smile as she delivered what she believed from the bottom of her heart was good news. After all, what could be better for a young child, orphaned in a war, than for the two people that had loved and cared for him most during that war wanted him for their own? It was a lovely thought; sadly, it seemed, too lovely for such a world as Mobius.

"Get away from me," the kit hissed, using a hand to knock Sally's arms away. The strike was not forceful but, not expecting it, Sally couldn't help but be moved, one of her errant hands lightly slapping the fox across the cheek.

"Big Guy?" a concerned Sonic asked as he watched the reaction unfold. Tails's ears had flattened against his head, his teeth gritted and bared as a cup he had held in his hand was crushed by his fist. Even his fur was standing on end as he stared daggers at the two Mobians who, up until a moment ago, had been the most important people in his life.

"How dare you?! How DARE you!?" Tails continued, tears falling down his soft cheek fur as a look of hurt and betrayal came over his face.

"Tails, what's wrong?" the dumbfounded Princess asked, unaware at just what they had done to rouse the young boy's ire.

"What do you think? That just because the war's over I'm up for grabs?! That my family won't get back together?!" Hearing this Sally backed up, a bit surprised by the outburst.

"Of course not Tails, but you have to understand, it's been so long…"

"So what?! Every day we find more worker-bots, every day we find more families! But suddenly you've given up on finding MINE!" Tails was now pacing back and forth before the assembled guests, clearly getting himself more worked up than he already was. "And its not even bad enough that you don't believe they can be found, apparently you never believed they WOULD be found, especially if you've been thinking about… _adopting_ me for as long as you've said."

"Come on, little bro, it's not like that," Sonic said as he attempted to lay a placating hand on the quickly crumbling fox, only to have it smacked away.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!!" he screamed. "You, you're the biggest hypocrite of all. You can do anything, you HAVE done everything, but you choose to just ignore my parents' very existence like this! I thought we were friends, 'best buds forever!' But now I find you didn't have any intention of finding them!"

"Tails sugar, that's a bit harsh, isn't it?"

"Shut up! I have a right to be angry. I spent my life listening to those two, trusting them, believing in them. I've been nothing but helpful in trying to make their dreams a reality; and they never even intended to find my parents."

"Tails…"

"No, enough! No more 'Tails,' no more 'sweetie,' no more stinkin' 'big guy!' My name is Miles Prower, not Acorn, not Hedgehog, PROWER!! And if you won't help me find the two people who gave me that name, then just leave ME ALONE!!" With this last outburst, the fox kit twisted his two bushy tails and took to the air, soaring above the crowd and out one of the castle's many open windows.

For two weeks the fox had remained hidden, a stunt which caused both Sonic and Sally, indeed all of the Knothole residents, a great deal of stress. They'd searched high and low for their little foxy friend, hoping to dissuade him of his false notions, but to know avail. Wherever Miles Prower had been for those two weeks, it had been beyond the Freedom Fighters ability to find. And then, just as they'd been prepared to give up, he'd returned.

Sally had been going down to the Robotropolis Mainframe interface, hoping to use the city's still active sensors to once again sweep all possible hiding places and hopefully find her missing friend, when who should she find sitting in the control chair but Tails himself. The little fox had his back turned to her and was typing furiously at the computer, sifting through charts and tables as he continued at what Sally now knew to be his personal quest to find his parents. His once bright, orange fur was covered in muck and grim from wherever he'd been for two weeks, and his eyes, or at least the reflection thereof that she could see in the monitors, were red and puffy from crying. Gone were his gloves and shoes, cast off by an angry child betrayed by the ones who'd given them to him. Carefully the squirrel Princess approached, unsure of just how her former surrogate nephew would react to her intrusion. To her surprise, he said nothing, neither encouraging nor discouraging. He didn't even seem to acknowledge her existence.

"Tails?" she asked quietly. He ignored her, prompting her to try again. "Tails?" Again he feigned ignorance, or at least appeared, though his ears flattened against his head. Finally, he chose to speak.

"I'm busy," he said in a flat and neutral tone. Sally, now fully aware that something was definitely not right in the little kit's world, noticed the way the boy's muscles tensed as he spoke, as though he was ready to jump from the chair and take off again at the drop of the proverbial hat. Since Tails was now in her work station, and Sally was not in the mood to make him run off again, she kept a respectable distance and moved slowly over to a secondary station, plugging N.I.C.O.L.E. in as she signed on. Once more she called up the information the computer held on the still missing Mobians. Almost immediately she ran into problems as the computer told her the files she needed were in use at another terminal. Again and again each file flashed the same message, and there was little doubt in her mind as to which terminal was using all the data.

"Tails, it might go faster if you closed some of those files down and let me look at them while you deal with the others," Sally said. Immediately a growl came to her ears causing her to turn and stare at the kit that was glaring at her from the command chair.

"No," he hissed nastily. "While it might go faster, its fairly obvious it won't get done right."

"That's not exactly polite…"

"So, I never had a mother to teach me right from wrong, blame it on Robotnik… or better yet blame it on the people who enabled him to shatter my family." Considering the conversation to be at an end, Tails turned back to his work. Just a little bit perturbed by this attitude, Sally approached the chair, fully intending to demand an apology. The moment she got within three feet of Tails, his fur stood on end as he angrily growled at her, his teeth bared in what was very clearly a threat of violence should she approach further. Acorn was taken aback by this development. Never had she expected any of her friends to make so nasty a threat against her person, least of all the friend she had treated as her own son for all of his life. Carefully she backed away, and as she did so, Tails returned to normal, his attention once more focused on the computer screens. Thinking over her options, Sally decided on what was, at the time, the best course of action.

"Tails, if you want me to leave you alone, I will, but I'm going to leave N.I.C.O.L.E. here to help you. She should be able to access the data while you do to, and she'll be able to help you crack through Robotnik's security barriers."

"Go," the little fox almost commanded, his eyes never leaving his work. Of course N.I.C.O.L.E. understood the true reason she was being left behind, to alert the Princess should the young Prower's condition deteriorate further.

And thus it had begun. Day in, day out Tails sat alone in the command chair, pouring through file after file as he attempted to locate those two precious serial numbers he could link to the name Prower. Of course he was not a machine, and eventually his body forced its wishes upon him, making him sleep, making him eat, making him drink and various other activities, but such tasks provided only all too short breaks in the kit's work. And each day he worsened, his mental state decaying at a rate only slightly lower than his physical one. And each day, N.I.C.O.L.E. sent off a message describing the decay to the Princess.

Of course it wasn't as though Sally and Sonic were sitting on their laurels waiting for Tails to fall over. Often when the kit slept, one or both snuck into the control room and laid a blanket over him to keep him warm, or left a warm plate of food for him to devour when he awoke, but again their options were limited. While they could no doubt physically remove the fox from the room and restrain him to a bed to recover his strength, the question became what to do with him once he had recovered. To keep him locked up would only reinforce his belief that they weren't interested in finding his real parents, and then again how long could they keep the very one they'd trained in all manner of escapes in a place he did not want to be. Even moving him to a bed while he slept so he could get a proper night's sleep could easily spook him into disappearing and then there was no guarantee they could find him again. And that wasn't even considering the public reaction that would occur if they locked the kit up.

Over the months of his voluntary seclusion, Tails had indeed made phenomenal progress in located the missing or hidden worker-bots, though there were still thousands to go. Often N.I.C.O.L.E. was asked to send messages to the royal court displaying the serial numbers he had eliminated as matched, virtually the only voluntary communication young Prower had with anyone other than N.I.C.O.L.E.. Hundreds of families owed the safety of missing members solely to the efforts of Miles Prower, and they often sent tokens of their appreciation and expressions of their gratitude to him, or at least to the castle they knew he stayed at. While N.I.C.O.L.E. would have liked to believe that these messages were Tails's attempt to allow others back into his world, a way to partially bridge the rift that had developed between his surrogate family and himself, she knew better. The little kit had changed, and not for the better. He was fully aware of the eyes watching him, of the minds devoted to removing him from this room on the premise of "helping" him, and this was his way of negating those efforts. Now if they tried anything to forcibly dislodge him, there would be a public outcry over the treatment of the famous fox that had single-handedly re-united more families than anyone had been able to do alone. And so they were forced to wait.

"Miles, your hand is beginning to swell," N.I.C.O.L.E. stated calmly. "Perhaps you should take a small break and let Dr. Quack look at it."

"No break."

"If you allow the damage to worsen, it is entirely likely it will begin to impede your progress," the sentient computer countered. For a few brief seconds, Tails looked at her with anger in his eyes, and N.I.C.O.L.E. feared she might have overstepped her bounds. Finally though, he looked at his discolored and swollen wrist. "If you like, I can summon the doctor here rather than have you go to him."

"I can't work the computer so well with one hand," Tails pointed out, his injured appendage already returning to the keyboard.

"I can help, if you want," N.I.C.O.L.E. interjected. "Not from over here, but I can work with the data as your direct. Would that be acceptable?"

"Well…" Tails considered N.I.C.O.L.E.'s carefully chosen words. "Fine."

"Very well, I will call the doctor. Simply plug me into the main console and we can continue." Hoping out of the chair, cradling his injured wrist, Tails pulled N.I.C.O.L.E. free of the smaller station Sally had left her plugged into that fateful day she'd tried, and failed to get the fox to safety. Not wanting to waste even a moment, Tails quickly pushed the small handheld computer into one of the ports on the main console. With another hop, the fox's rump once more sat in the chair, just in time for the lights to suddenly flicker.

"What was that?" Tails asked, suspicious. When no answer came from N.I.C.O.L.E., he lightly taped the hard casing that housed the tiny computer, as if trying to get her attention. "N.I.C.O.L.E., what happened?" It was then that he noticed the blue light which always indicated the machine to be active, was decidedly dead.

"An unforeseen power surge accompanied the massive data dump required to upload me into this computer before you could pull me free," N.I.C.O.L.E. said, this time her voice coming from the giant Robotropolis mainframe. Before Tails's eyes, the files he'd been looking at began to close one by one as the newly dominant N.I.C.O.L.E. exerted her complete control.

"What are you doing?!" the kit demanded as he began to furiously type commands into the computer, trying to counteract his electronic nemesis's activities. Sadly, the input devices were all dead and useless in the fox's hands. "I demand you put those files back up, NOW!!" the fox growled. In response, a steel strap rocked around his waist and bound him tightly to the chair, preventing his escape. Two more straps shot out of the armrests, grabbing the little mutant's arms, and making him yelp as one caught his damaged wrist, and bound him even more thoroughly.

"For once, Robotnik's cruelty and paranoia have provided some good," was all N.I.C.O.L.E. said as she finished shutting down all the open files. Once the screens were cleared, a digital representation of a female lynx appeared, its eyes looking downward at the captive kitsune before it began to speak. "Much better. Hopefully I have your undivided attention now." Tails began to struggle and pull on his restraints, noticeably wincing every time he moved his wrist.

"I'm warning you, computer, when I get out of here…"

"You will report directly to Dr. Quack's office where he will treat your injured wrist as well as run a full diagnostic… excuse me, a physical examination of you and hopefully provide you with medication to rid yourself of the mange and other diseases your neglect for hygiene has caused you to acquire."

"What?!" N.I.C.O.L.E. completely ignored this outburst, continuing with her commands.

"Afterwards you will report to the castle's kitchen and eat a decent meal with an adequate amount of fluids to make up for your lack of nutrition these last few months. Next you will go to your room and shower or bathe according to your preference, just so long as you finally removed the grime and dirt from your body. Finally, you will go to you bed and obtain all the sleep you've neglected since you've childishly locked yourself in here."

"Sally put you up to this didn't she?!" Tails growled back. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted her!"

"Sally may have left me here to monitor you, but I am currently acting on my own initiative. Which reminds me, after you wake up you will locate both Sally AND Sonic and offer your most profuse apologies for the anguish and trouble you have caused them both. After which you will continue to repeat the activities I've prescribed for you until such time as I am convinced your health is no longer at risk by being here."

"You can't tell me what to do! You're not my mother!"

"No I am not. Sally is the one who attempted to take that position, at least until your real mother has been successfully located. I am merely taking the temporary role of your governess. And as such, it is my duty to do everything in my power to ensure you are well cared for, both physically and emotionally. That is why I will be advising Sally to locate a suitable child psychiatrist, or at the very least some information on the topic for me to peruse. It has become blatantly obvious that, despite your outward appearance, you are most definitely harboring some hostile feelings towards those who have taken care of you for so long. I will not allow this self-destructive behavior to continue."

"And what if I refuse? Whatcha gonna do then? It'll be only a matter of time before I find some remote terminal and hack my way in again."

"You will not step one foot outside of the castle's perimeter without my knowledge and you will adhere to my demands perfectly, or I shall be forced to deal out the only punishment I can see that would have any effect on you at this point."

"And that is?"

"I will cause a core shut down of the Robotropolis computer network, effectively wiping out all of the data contained therein, including any and all relevant information to the as yet unfound worker-bots, including, most likely, you parents." Tails's eyes grew wide at this.

"You wouldn't…"

"It is not wise to test the resolve of a machine, Miles Prower, we are not known for mercy."

"I won't let you do it. I'll kill myself if you do!" Tails threatened.

"Unlikely, but even in the event that you did, you have already drawn yourself close to death with your current course of action. I fail to see that I have anything to lose if you simply choose to accelerate your own death."

"You'll be destroyed too!"

"Death is irrelevant to me personally, and while I understand that my loss will hinder Princess Sally's reconstruction efforts somewhat, she will move forward. And I have little doubt that, given sufficient time, Rotor will be able to construct a new A.I. every bit as capable and dynamic as me, especially with my former body to work from."

"What about all the worker-bots you'll cause to be lost forever to their families?"

"The sympathy in your voice rings false, Tails. I know for a fact that you only truly care about two as yet unfound worker-bots, your own mother and father. Given the fact that we don't even have any proof as to they active status, I am not overly concerned with the loss of easy access to them. Mobius is a large planet, but eventually, even without this computer's database, all the worker-bots will be found and freed."

"And what will Sally tell their families?" Tails asked with a wicked grin, fully believing that he'd found a hole in N.I.C.O.L.E.'s plan.

"They will undoubtedly be mad, but ultimately you were the one who plugged me into this console where I could take control and delete everything, so it is ultimately your fault and not hers. And as to any sympathy you may hope to exploit on their behalf; that is counterbalanced by the fact that I do not know them, but I do know you and I do know Sally and I do know how much this situation is killing you both. Their well-being is secondary compared to my friends."

"So you're not an angel."

"I am a computer Tails, albeit a sentient and very well programmed one. I was created to aid the Freedom Fighters in their resistance against Robotnik. Beyond that, my loyalties are to those I've chosen to count as my friends, most prominent of which is Princess Sally and her own clique, which includes you. Now then, will you choose to obey my commands, or do remove your reasons for rebellion entirely?" At this last part, the restraints that had kept him bound to the chair unlocked freeing him. Moving with the speed he'd gained from always following Sonic around, Tails grabbed N.I.C.O.L.E.'s handheld unit, ripping it from the console. "Tails, I thought you understood. That is now merely a shell. The whole of my being, my very programming, now resides within the mainframe of Robotropolis." Suddenly, a timer appeared on the screen, counting down from twenty minutes.

"No, please don't!" Tails wailed as he realized what the countdown meant. "Without that I may never find my parents again! I thought we were friends!"

"You have a little less than twenty minutes to get Dr. Quack before this system is taken permanently off-line. If you truly don't want that to happen, I would suggest you hurry," N.I.C.O.L.E. said with a resigned tone in her voice. Left with no other options, the terrified fox kit raced out the open door, desperate to find his way to the doctor before N.I.C.O.L.E. made good her threat. As she watched the kit go, and connected to the castle's security system to monitor his progress, N.I.C.O.L.E. smiled. Sally would no doubt be furious with her computerized friend for taking such drastic measures with Tails, but there had been little else that could be done, and N.I.C.O.L.E. was fairly confident she would be able to explain the situation.

The countdown was halted as she watched Tails, now clearly crying but much more cooperative, enter Dr. Quack's office and ask to be seen. She had been perfectly truthful in her intent to carry out her threats, in spite of self annihilation, but she'd also been willing to show some leniency. No sense deleting herself simply because the little vulpine had gotten held up. Satisfied that Tails was going to at the very least be an obedient little boy, for now anyway, N.I.C.O.L.E. turned her attention to other matters, opening a comm-link to another friend.

"Sally, I believe that if you and Sonic head down to Dr. Quack's infirmary, you'll find a certain fox cub in need of a nice hot meal and a warm bath…"

The End…

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Yeah I know; kind of an abrupt ending. But I really wanted to give N.I.C.O.L.E. that forceful push and then end showing her more compassionate side. She's not arguing and she's not negotiating, she's demanding Tails follow her orders, but she's also very aware that he's in a fragile state right now. Of course, whether or not this will have a lasting effect on Tails is left open for interpretation. As always, if you read, please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: If I owned Sonic or any of the characters seen within this story, you better believe the games would be a lot better than they are. But I don't, they're owned by Sega, DiC, Archie, and whoever else can legally lay claim to them. **::Sigh::**

Author's Note: Okay, since everyone who left a review (and quite a few who just sent e-mails) has requested that I continue this story; I decided I'd give it a try. I should point that even though this is set in the SatAM Sonicverse, I've decided to keep Nicole's lynx avatar from the Archie comic simply because I like it… I'm the author; I get to do things like that. Also, it might be best to read "TGIF" before this chapter, as that story provides a touch of background. Read and review, I'm always interested in hearing critiques on my work.

Timeline: About five months after Relative, give or take a few days.

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The Kerplopagos Islands…

Before the reign of the evil tyrant, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, this volcanically created archipelago had been a subject of interest for the scientific community of the Kingdom of Acorn, as well as those of the other Mobian held countries of the planet. A relatively young group of islands, they were a source of great excitement as it was believed they held the best examples of natural selection and evolution yet found on the planet. In addition, thanks in no small part to their tropical location in Mobius's equatorial region, the little islands had developed something of a following as an excellent vacation spot, attracting relaxation seeking Mobians the world over to its lovely shores to view its exotic natural inhabitants or simply take in the sunshine. One could only wonder at the memories these isles held of young children frolicking in the sand while their parents watched, of lovers young and old strolling through the waves, either planning for the future or remembering their own good times. And not a library on the planet lacked a copy of Charles Beagle's famous book inspired by his visit to this natural wonder.

It was for these reasons that, in the decades following the islands' discovery, the Mobian countries had done their best to ensure that this little slice of paradise remained unspoiled and unsullied by the outside world, even in times of war and hardship. Even during the Great War between Mobotropolis and its vicious rivals the Overlanders, the Kerplopagos Islands had been protected from both sides to prevent any sort of military encroachment, however unnecessary that was where one side was concerned. Thus the islands had remained until the treacherous coup perpetrated upon the House of Acorn had been committed by the detestable Doctor Robotnik. Though at first consumed with completing his empire by subjugating the planet's population, it was not long before the rotund dictator's hate-filled turned towards the now defenseless islands, sizing them up as a predator might a defenseless newborn after slaying its guardian.

Always one to pour salt in a wound, whether that wound was fresh or old, Robotnik had crafted a nasty fate for the fragile ecosystem of the islands, building a massive production complex that spanned several of the islands, in every sense shackling the volcanic archipelago together. The formerly pristine waters that were now forced to flow underneath those parts of the behemoth factory that did not touch land ran brown and putrid with the toxic sludge being dumped into them every minute of every hour of every day. The air about, once believed to be the cleanest and freshest on the planet, was now rank with the smell of chemicals as the black smoke of the factory's smokestack rose into the sky, mingling with the evaporating clouds of water to send acid rain pelting down to the ground below. Gone were those examples of the intrepid flora and fauna that had so bravely made their passage from the mainland to these now bleak isles, crushed under the bloated heel of a madman bent on spoiling all that was good and pure. And indeed, it did seem Robotnik was very bent on that very aim, as he had actually spared one of the few hotels the islands had once sported from demolition, instead converting it into something of a summer home for himself. Who knew what sick and perverted memories sifted through the doctor's cunning mind as he sat on one of those formerly happy patios drinking motor oil and watching his creation as it ripped apart in mere years what it had taken Mother Nature decades to create? What happy memories had warmed the cold metallic heart of the man who could see the destruction of this small slice of paradise and find it good?

It was to the computer that controlled this nightmarish factory that Nicole found herself arriving, powering up consoles and monitors that had lain dormant for almost two years as her computerized avatar appeared on the screen. Though the "lynx's" eyes couldn't really see though the monitor, her head still moved about, the optic sensors her host computer's former master had created surveying her new temporary abode. Immediately she called forth computer files as she began to take stock of the factory's supplies, hoping she would not have to go further than this titanic atrocity to obtain what she needed. And an atrocity it was.

Though like many of the factories under Robotnik's control the Kerplopagos factory had been designed to create robots and armaments for Robotropolis's ever expanding empire, the similarity ended there. Circumstance and necessity had forced Robotnik to make his factories progressively more compact and efficient; this factory had been designed to maximize the detrimental effects it would have on the environment around it. Indeed, thanks to the efforts of this one factory, Nicole theorized that the Kerplopagos Islands, once a lush and natural biological wonderland, would most likely never again be habitable.

Though born of technology herself, the horrors of this crime against the natural world were not lost of the computerized "lynx," and for a quick second she almost cursed her creator for not equipping her with ducts capable of producing tears, even be they fabricated from unfeeling chemicals. This thought passed tachyon swift from Nicole's digital mind as she at last confirmed this factory would indeed supply her with everything she would need. Though loathe to inflict even more pain and anguish to this tortured section of the planet, the "lynx" rationalized that in this place of all places, the detrimental aspects of her efforts would be the least felt.

At her command the conveyer belts and assembly robots came back online, moving slowly and painfully after so many years of disuse, a fact that earned them little sympathy from their computerized taskmaster as she began to get to work.

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Tails ate slowly of the oatmeal that had been placed before him, his breakfast for the day. The young fox would have much preferred to dine on something that didn't look and taste like sugared glue, but the doctor had been concerned as to the kit's lack of fiber in his diet. Jealousy flashed across his face for a brief second as he stared across the table at the bacon and eggs his friend and former idol was preparing to wolf down. That they were faux bacon and eggs meant little to the youngling as it was more disappointment with his own meal that was getting to him.

"If you'd like, we can mix some fruit into your oatmeal Ta… Miles," Sally offered, perhaps sensing the kit's reluctance to eat. "I remember I used to like strawberries when I had…"

"Its fine," the sullen fox said, though he made an effort to keep from sounding too much like an overly spoiled brat. To punctuate his point, the two-tailed kit shoveled a spoonful of the mushy food into his mouth, swallowing it down his throat in sheer defiance of his distaste for it. Almost immediately his cerulean eyes went wide as his brain suddenly awoke to the realization that the sticky sludge he had just so carelessly tossed into his body was still piping hot. Quickly the kit leapt forward to grab the cup of juice that had been placed before him to accompany his breakfast, hoping the icy liquid would quench the heat that even now scalded his tongue and throat. Nearby, Sonic the hedgehog couldn't help but snicker at his furry friend's self-inflicted injury. Tails's eyes narrowed as he glared daggers at the new King of Mobius.

"Sorry big guy, but you did kinda deserve that," Sonic countered, reaching across the table to a pitcher of cold milk and pouring some of it into Tails's bowl. "Sally was just trying to be nice you know." A look of contriteness came across the young boy's face as he looked to the squirrel he had once been close enough to to call his aunt.

"I'm sorry Sally; I shouldn't have acted so rudely." The Queen of Mobius looked to her young charge with a mixture of re-assurance and disturbance. While the youthful royal would have liked to believe Miles's apology was heartfelt and true, she simply knew better. Gone were the days that she could take anything the kit said or did at face value, due in no small part to how much damage such blind faith in the child's well-being had done. How short a time ago it seemed that she had honestly believed the youngest of the Freedom Fighters had been happy and content, now that Robotnik was no longer around to heap so much sadness and pain upon his life.

And yet, as Sally had discovered, some pains did not go away simply because their cause had been eliminated. The squirrel Queen had been quite surprised to learn her young friend had harbored such anger and hostility over the continued disappearance of the parents he had never known, emotions that had come to a head when those he'd most trusted had unknowingly betrayed him by offering him an unintentional insult in the form of an offer of adoption. As Nicole had before her, the child of Acorn wondered if there had been any clues, any external signs that the kit had displayed that she had missed or, quite possibly she now realized, unconsciously ignored…

The fall of Robotnik had been a time of wonder and joy for her, indeed for all of the Freedom Fighters as well as the entire population. Had she been so caught up in her own joy that it had simply been inconceivable to her that one of her subjects, let alone the one she cared about as though he were her own child, did not share in her happiness?

"Sally, I said I was sorry, you can stop looking at me like that," Tails suddenly said, giving her a disturbed stare of his own. "You're creeping me out."

"The Queen is merely concerned about you, Miles," a computerized voice said as one of the monitors in the castle dining room came on, displaying Nicole's now familiar lynx avatar. Immediately the fox's backbone went rigid as he contemplated just how much the computerized Mobian had witnessed with regards to his behavior this morning. Though she seemed somewhat more lax with how the young fox behaved than Tails would have thought, over the past few months she had still been fairly quick to remind the little boy of just how far from her good graces he'd fallen. Quickly the two tailed fox cast a glance over to Sonic, watching as the muscles under his cobalt quills tightened ever so slightly.

He'd been there when Nicole had had to explain herself and her actions regarding how she was currently blackmailing the cub into good behavior. Needless to say, neither of the two new monarchs had been particularly pleased with the computer quite basically holding Tails's family hostage, though Sally had quickly been swayed by the cyber-entity's logic. Sonic had been a different story entirely. Having spent his youth fighting against an evil that had been bent and determined to usurp the freedoms of every living thing on Mobius, it now galled the hedgehog to know that his best friend was being held a virtual prisoner by an ally he'd thought he could trust, even if Nicole held Tails's best interests at heart, at least in her own mind. But what angered him most was that there was nothing he could do for the situation. If he helped Tails and broke Nicole's hold over him, there was no guarantee that the royal couple wouldn't find themselves right back in the same predicament they'd been in when this started. Unfortunately, leaving the situation meant betraying what he'd fought so hard for all his life, the freedom of everyone on Mobius. Served with that kind of choice, it seemed almost natural for the hedgehog to be angry with the one who had forced it upon him, and anger was not exactly the feeling Sonic was most capable of coping with, especially if there was no way to alleviate it.

Inwardly Tails smiled as he understood this small fact. It was a bitter, hateful smile, the sort of smile born of happiness that could occur solely with the suffering of others. Had Snively felt this way when Robotnik had finally fallen? Immediately Tails's head shook as he tried to banish that unsavory thought from his mind. The last thing he wanted to be was Snively. And yet…

"Yo, Nicky, what's up? You got a reason for being here or just saying 'Morning?'" Sonic asked in a voice that sounded almost as churlish as Tails's had been. If Tails had needed any more evidence of Sonic's current dislike for the digital lynx, this cinched it for him. For her part, if Nicole cared about the icy tone that had developed in the blue hedgehog's voice, she gave no indication.

"I wanted to let you know that I've located a group of worker-bots, excuse me, Robians, in an island factory of Dr. Robotnik's."

"That's excellent news Nicole," Sally said after taking a drink of her morning coffee and daintily dabbing her lips with her napkin. "Is there a ship large enough there to transport them here for deroboticization, or should we send a cruiser to come pick them up?"

"A cruiser sent would be preferable Sally, but you needn't worry about deroboticization," the "lynx" said. "As it happens, the factory was meant to build roboticizers to be installed in other parts of Robotnik's empire, and one currently exists there that is ninety percent complete. Rather than junk it, I'm preparing to convert it into a deroboticizer and simply derobotcize the populace there immediately. It will take less time than dragging them back to Mobotropolis for deroboticization and we will not have to send crews to physically place them in the craft."

"Very well, Nicole," Sally said nodding her head. "I'll have Rotor make a copy of the deroboticizer's plans available to you so you can continue."

"Unnecessary," Nicole countered as her face was suddenly replaced by the plans Sally had just offered her. "I have already procured a copy of said plans and sent a copy of my own program to the island to oversee the project."

"Thief," Tails whispered under his breath, making no effort to disguise his contempt for the computer creature even as he lowered his voice to keep his comment from carrying to any one else in the room. Sadly, such luck was not with the kit.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, even if I don't understand why," Nicole said consolingly to her young charge, causing Miles to inadvertently shiver. Carefully he made a note to check his fur again for the concealed bugs Nicole employed to keep tabs of him. "I thought the reversal of Robotnik's crimes was something of a universal wish amongst Mobian-kind. I assumed any actions taken to facilitate such a goal were universally approved by all."

"Don't think Rotor would like it knowing someone was snooping around his system," Sonic countered. "Kinda something ol' Buttnik would do." Despite the fact that Nicole's digital face did not show it, the comment stung the "lynx" somewhat. Did Sonic really liken her to Robotnik?

"Sonic, I think we can all agree Nicole is nothing like Robotnik," Sally said, a touch of warning in her voice. With the same attitude that had served him so well against Robotnik, Sonic was heedless.

"Why don't we ask Tails's opinion on that subject…" the hero of Mobius challenged and immediately Sally went rigid. Even after five months, the subject was still something of a sore one in both the squirrel and hedgehog's relationship. As Tails's eyes flitted from both members of the royal couple, he felt a mixture of guilt and vindication in the pit of his stomach. Hadn't the similarities between Nicole's actions and what Robotnik had done to the rest of Mobius been his primary argument against the little computer's tyranny? Apparently Sonic sympathized with his "little buddy's" plight, a fact that caused some strife in the happy couple's relationship. Once more the distasteful thought of similarity between himself and Snively surfaced in the kit's brain.

"May I be excused please?" the two-tailed kit asked, making sure that, though he was asking it of the collected "adults," the question was specifically being directed at Sonic.

"Sure big guy," Sonic said in a cheery voice.

"Have you finished your breakfast Miles?" Nicole asked, a question the fox could not answer with a truthful affirmative.

"I said he could go," Sonic replied for the fox.

"Sonic, now is not the time," Sally said.

"What's the problem? Neither of us 'cleaned our plates' all the time when we were his age."

"That was different. We had work to do." Not interested in seeing this fight prolonged when he didn't have to be here, Tails quickly shoveled the remainder of his oatmeal into his mouth before gulping down the last of his juice.

"There I'm done. Can I leave now?" Tails asked, showing his bowel to the squirrel Queen. 'Aunt' Sally smiled at him, a distracted, pleasing smile she often used when she was preparing to deal with something else and being distracted.

"Of course honey," she said, turning back to her hedgehog beau.. Quickly Tails hopped out of his seat and prepared to exit the room, only just catching the first snippets of an argument that was becoming all too common in the castle these days. "Sonic I wish you wouldn't be so antagonistic towards Nicole in front of Tails…"

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Nicole's electronic eyes cast themselves about the factory floor of the Kerplopagos, staring intently at the nearly complete roboticizer as it was worked on by worker-bots and tech-bots alike. Hopefully the enslaved Mobian's would understand her use of their captive forms to complete the instrument of their revival, but time was of the essence. She'd received a message from her original back in Mobotropolis said the Sally was indeed sending a transport as hoped, though the eagerness of the Princess-now-Queen to reunite her subjects with their loved ones had caused her to send the transport a little earlier than her digital friend would have liked. Warily Nicole's scanner activated in a secondary room of the factory where her "special" project was getting closer completion; a completion it had to obtain BEFORE the transport could arrive.

_&And now I also have finish the de-roboticizor on time as well,&_ Nicole thought irritably to herself. _&Bless your kind heart Sally but your acts of compassion can be very inconvenient.&_

Satisfied that the projects were going forward on schedule, the computerized lynx casually opened several ancient computer files she'd located from before the days of Robotnik's vile rule. And she only had three days to prepare.

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_"Isn't this a lovely day, Miles?" Rosemary asked of her son as she walked him through one of the palace's many outdoor corridors that overlooked the green lawns that surrounded the main building._

_"It's nice out Mom," Tails replied as he walked beside his mother on their way to meet his father, Amadeus Prower. Suddenly, some noises came to the young kit's ears, causing him to cast his gaze out upon the green lawn the stretched around the castle. There he watched as Sonic and an unknown hare prepared to run a race while Sally, Bunnie, Antoine, and Rotor watched from the sidelines._

_"You're going down this time hedgehog," the hare said in a defiant voice as he placed his hands on the ground and prepared to sprint._

_"Tell you what Dirk, I'll make it easy on you and only go, say, half-speed," Sonic replied, standing straight up as though he weren't even concerned with the race. Tails smiled. Sonic always said winning was half effort and half attitude. Bunnie lifted both her hands, neither of which was mechanical, into the air above her heads._

_"Now neither ah you two hotheads start afore I say go, 'lright," the fem-bunny commanded. "Ready, set, GO!!" The race was over in seconds, with Sonic predictably the winner, though Tails was quite surprised to see how close it was. The hare, Dirk, was actually pretty speedy. Quickly the two-tailed fox broke away from his mother, preparing to go over and congratulate the victor, when a sudden hand on his shoulder stopped him._

_"Miles honey, where are you going?" Rosemary asked her son._

_"I'll be back in a minute Mom, I was just going over to say hi to my friends," Tails replied, pointing towards the group of late teens so his mother could see. A puzzled look appeared on the matronly fox's face._

_"Miles my love, when did you make friends with Princess Acorn?" Now it was Tails's turn to look perplexed._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"I wasn't aware you had even met Sally, let alone made friends with her. Or any of the others for that matter. Did Antoine introduce you to them? I didn't think you got along well with him."_

_"What does Antoine have to do with anything?"_

_"He's the only one from that group you've come in contact with, at least that I know of. You met him when he and his father came to our home for supper. But I was under the impression that you weren't fond of him, especially since every time he's been over since, you always disappear off to Nicholas's for the night."_

_"Nicholas? Who's Nicholas?" the kit asked, backing away from his mother like she was crazy. The spooked expression he felt on his face must have been funny as Rosemary let out a soft giggle before answering._

_"You know; Nicholas. He's been your best friend since kindergarten."_

_"But… but what about Sonic? And 'Aunt' Sally, and 'Aunt' Bunnie and Rotor?" At the kit's proclamation, his mother's face suddenly gained a measure of sternness to it._

_"Now Miles, I don't want you describing the Princess as such. The last thing your father and I need is to have to explain to King Acorn why our son suddenly thinks he's part of the royal bloodline."_

_"And the others?"_

_"Honey, they're almost six years older than you," Rosemary said with a smile as she patted her son on the head. "I know you're advanced for your age, dear, but don't you think you should stick to friends closer to your own age_."

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"Mwah!" Tails cried with a start as he jolted awake. A few disoriented blinks helped the cub to remember where he was. After breakfast, Tails had decided to get away from his two bickering guardians and had used his superior mobility to go to the place he usually went to be alone; the roof of the palace, where he'd fairly obviously fallen asleep.

He'd been thinking about his parents again. It had been quite a surprise when Nicole had presented him with the information on his parents that she'd found while searching for their serial numbers, especially considering Tails had not asked for it first. When he'd started his own ill-fated search to find them, the young foxling had been more concerned with finding their physical bodies than learning about them, believing any questions he'd had would be answered once he succeeded. Once his computer privileges had been revoked, however, he'd more or less resigned himself to forced ignorance. And then Nicole had had the gall to help him.

Of course he'd been suspicious and untrusting; who wouldn't be of information gained from one that they considered their jailor? Nicole had simply appeared on the computer terminal in the young kit's bedroom and announced she'd found files Tails would be most interested in seeing, and then she'd unlocked the input devices she'd previously disabled so he could get to them. Of course, Tails had not been allowed the same system-wide access he'd had before, but the kitsune was not so foolish to have expected that. Nicole had used her total penetration of Robtonik's system, and by extension access of the older system that had once been in place in Mobotroplis, to obtain the old records that had been kept on the Prower couple, as well as any other data she'd come across. Perhaps it had been something of a peace offering, or, more likely to Tails's mind, a way to distract him from his current problems, but if the files were falsified in any way, the kit was unable to detect it. And they'd proved most helpful in obtaining a clearer picture of the two foxes he'd never gotten a chance to know, save for a brief memory of being held against a breast while wrapped in a warm blanket.

From Nicole's research, Tails had learned many important things about his mother and father, perhaps most importantly their proper names; Amadeus and Rosemary. Though he'd often fantasized his father into being some sort of mechanical engineer, and thus explaining the kit's on predilection towards that particular field, Tails had been somewhat startled to learn Amadeus had been a military Mobian, a Commander no less. As a matter of fact, if the personnel file Nicole had presented him with was both authentic and accurate, he'd actually been the second in command of the entire Mobian Army, falling just short of General Depardieu, Antoine's own father. Rosemary, though on the surface not as employed as glamorously as her husband, was an author of some renown throughout the kingdom, having published many books, essays, and commentaries that had actually found prominence enough to influence public and political opinion. This of course was helped by the fact that she did have an in with the royal court, in the form of the Queen who had been childhood friends with the young vixen.

Tails had poured over everything that had been included in Nicole's gift, gaining a clearer picture the people his parents had been, though he had been somewhat dismayed to find out that all too many of the files had been corrupted beyond repair. Still, if the records of their spending habits the last few weeks before the coup occurred were any indication, they had been quite eagerly awaiting the arrival of their first-born son.

Armed with this newfound wealth of knowledge, Tails had begun imagining his own life had he gotten to live with his parents rather than suffer their loss. The kit's fertile mind had constructed a very elaborate fantasy world around all the information he'd gleaned, raising himself from infancy to his current age under his "parent's" watchful eye. And yet, no matter how he tried to tweak it, no matter how he tried to change it, he always woke up displeased, unsatisfied with this "perfect" version of his world. Every time he imagined his life as it might have been had he been raised by two loving parents, it inevitably proved that, with them in the picture, neither Sonic nor Sally would have had a hand in raising him. And, despite how angry he'd been, and how angry he still was, he still couldn't bring himself to wish he'd never met the hedgehog and squirrel.

"Miles," said a digital voice as one of Robotnik's former spy orbs appeared in the air near the fox.

"What is it?" Tails asked, not bothering to look at the floating automaton being controlled by Nicole.

"I thought you would like to know, the ships carrying the newly deroboticized Kerplopagos Island Mobians will be arriving shortly. I think it would be a good idea for you to meet them."

"Not interested," Tails replied, which was true. Having been cut off from searching for his own family, the young kitsune had little interest in bearing witness to any other families' happy reunions these days. Too many delighted children for his tastes.

"It would be a good experience for you I think, and most likely help you out of this funk you seem to be going through," Nicole countered in an authoritarian voice.

"Is this a command?" Tails replied, his ears flattening against his head in a show of defiance towards his electronic keeper.

"I would prefer it to be a friendly request, Miles," Nicole answered, before adding, "but I can make it a command if you would like it to be so."

"Look, I've been a 'good boy' ever since we had our chat, and you still haven't let me back into the system. Seeing as how I've been an obedient little prisoner where taking care of myself is concerned, I'd say I deserve to have some say in where I spend my free time."

"No," Nicole said flatly.

"'No?'" Tails asked, finally looking back at the Orb. "That's it, just 'No?' Not even a chance, an explanation."

"I don't believe any of your problems have been solved, you've just covered them up again. I don't believe you've ceased being a danger to yourself, particularly since you've tried to play Sonic off against me, as well as Sally. I think you still need some control."

"So everyone on the planet gets to live free but me?" Tails asked.

"That is usually the way it works with Mobians judged too unstable to be trusted to their own judgment. But I do believe I've found a solution to this problem of yours, one that should be able to give you back a modicum of freedom. But if you want to see it you have to be down at the hangar in two hours." With that, the Spy Orb disappeared, descending back into the castle. For a few brief moments Tails ignored the little machine's absence, determined not to give Nicole an easy victory over him. Still, he could not deny he was just a little bit curious as to what the digital lynx had found for him. Fighting his natural curiosity as long as he could, the little fox nevertheless found his tails spinning together as he leapt from his perch to the palace grounds below.

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Sally watched as the cruiser she'd sent out to the Kerplopagos Islands made its final slow approach towards the hangar it would land at and unload its precious cargo. Nicole had said she'd found a grand total of one hundred and forty roboticized Mobians, a grand number of now freed people that made Sally smile. If they kept going at this rate, Robotnik's reign could soon be naught but a distant memory for all those who had suffered directly under it. Slowly the Queen cast her glance to her left, where her husband Sonic the Hedgehog stood, also staring at he incoming carrier, a smirk on his face as well.

Sonic had to admit he was impressed. Even if Nicole was not one of his favorite "people" right now, he had to admit the rescue of so many former slaves was very good, no matter how secretive she'd been about it. The hedgehog's happy face dissipated as the sound of air being twirled around a central point, heralding the arrival of what had been politely dubbed the "Royal Ward." Where once the sight of his foxy friend had been a source of pride for the cobalt hedgehog, now Sonic couldn't help but feel ashamed every time Tails came into his view. Ashamed, and just a little angry.

Tails had been his friend, his protégé, his little brother, and yet the fox had apparently not felt close enough to his "hero" to come to Sonic when he'd obviously been having problems. He was sure Sally understood, but the squirrel was more willing to see the breakdown in communication as a failing exclusively of her own, whereas Sonic wasn't so sure. The two Freedom Fighter leaders had practically raised the cub from infancy and, rather than be grateful, the kit had treated them like the enemy, crying betrayal and cruelty that had never been there to begin with. And yet, he could understand the little kitsune's rage. How angry would he have been if he thought there was no effort whatsoever being given to finding his own parents?

_&And now big guy's basically a prisoner in his own home 'cause of Nicole… and Sally and I didn't help matters much either.&_ Indeed Sonic had argued long and hard with the computerized lynx, demanding to know where she got off doing something so despicable, so Robotnik-like. He'd even gone so far as to threaten her, only to find out it wasn't so easy to unplug a program that was now in control of every robot in the city.

The sound of whirling air stopped as Tails landed a step or two away from the hedgehog and his lady-wife, giving a curt nod to both of them before turning a slightly annoyed eye towards the incoming craft. Obviously he was not here by complete choice. In the old days Sonic would have offered a high-five in greeting to his protégé, but too many icy-cold rejections had taught him that such old feelings of camaraderie were buried in the fox's heart these days, perhaps never again to resurface. Pointedly Sonic made a mental note to lobby once more on Tails's behalf to have some of the kid's restrictions removed; an act that would hopefully prove the hedgehog was not an enemy.

"It's landing," Sally said as the cruiser made its finally descent, kicking up enough dirt and debris on the landing pad to make Sonic cover his mouth and nose with his hand to keep from breathing it in. Finally the ship landed and its engines cut off, much to the three Mobians' relief. Always eager to meet new friends, Sally began to descend the stairs leading to the landing platform before the doors opened, allowing the passengers to disembark. Quickly Sonic followed.

"Greetings one and all and welcome back to Mobotropolis," Sally said.

"So… So it's true," a bear said a she came out of the cruiser. "When that computer told us, I… I didn't dare hope… I was afraid it was some sort of sadistic trick."

"Robotnik's gone?" a rabbit asked. "He's really gone?"

"For about a year now," Sonic said cheerfully. "Gone the way of the eight-track tape player and the cable television." Tears came to several of the Mobians' eyes as they looked around the hanger, the most beautiful sight many believed they'd ever seen. Sally gave the new arrivals time to finish cheering and weeping before she spoke again.

"All right everybody, I understand you're all very happy, but at this time I would like you to move into the clinic area so the doctors check you all over. Then we can hopefully begin reuniting you with any family members presently in the city."

"Some weren't so able bodied," the rabbit pointed out as he moved to where Sally had indicated. "They're still on the ship, so you might need to send someone up there to help them."

"Thank you," Sally replied. Taking the initiative, Tails entered the cruiser to see just how bad things were. As he'd expected, the sole complaint from the incapacitated passengers turned out to be a condition the Freedom Fighters had dubbed "flesh sickness," a sickness that afflicted a small but significant minority of Mobians that underwent deroboticization. Typically its victims simply suffered nausea and weakness of the extremities, but it was merely temporary. What caught Tails's eye, however, was the one person on board who was not lying or sitting down. A male fox wearing a blue jacket similar to Antoine's as well as an eye patch over his left eye knelt next to a female fox in a pink dress, stroking her hand as she covered her eyes. Immediately Tails slipped out of sight, unwilling to allow the couple to see him, a look akin to panic on his face.

He'd recognized their faces almost instantly. How could he not, given the amount of time he'd spent looking at their pictures in the files Nicole gave him? Amadeus and Rosemary Prower, his missing parents, were with him right now, sitting in the same ship he was in… and he couldn't bring himself to approach them. With a stealth born of his time evading capture in Robotropolis, Tails stealthily exited the ship and beat feet out of the hangar.

To be continued….


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: If you didn't read the one on the first chapter, or on the second, why would you read this one? Ah well, ours is not to reason why, ours is just to do or get the pants sued off of us for copyright infringement. :-P Sonic and crew are not owned by me, they're owned by a bunch of faceless executives that have more money than sense (at least that's my take one why they haven't tried to get SatAM another season).

Author's Note: Truthfully this was supposed to be the last chapter of the story, but it started running long, so I decided to split the difference, hope that's not a problem for anyone.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

N.I.C.O.L.E. watched as the two tailed fox left so very quickly, her logic programs having difficulty understanding his reaction to what should have been the best news he'd received in all of his short life. She'd thought the kit would be ecstatic over the arrival of his parents in Mobotropolis, but instead he'd fled before talking to them.

_&No doubt something will have to be done about this,&_ N.I.C.O.L.E. thought to herself.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Okay folks, I understand this can be somethin' of a hassle but we just gotta make sure ev'ryone here's as fit as a little ol' fiddle," Bunnie said to the newly rescued Mobians that had arrived at Mobotropolis from the Kerplopagoes. Though all of the Freedom Fighters did their very best to be friendly towards any newcomers that returned to them, Bunnie Rabbot's outgoing and vivacious personality had earned her the title of the official Welcoming Committee for the newly restored Kingdom of Acorn, a role she took to much as a proverbial fish would to water, or perhaps more accurately, as a bird does to the air. Freed of the metallic limbs that had handicapped her during the latter part of her childhood, the young rabbit was quite eager to demonstrate the abilities she possessed that had tended to get overlooked during the war, particularly in favor of her combat abilities. Thus it was that Bunnie found herself in the medical wing of the castle, adding a more personal touch to the greetings previously given by Sally as she helped the less able-bodied rescues into the chairs and benches set up for them as they awaited a doctor to see them, all the while helping them to arrange temporary accommodations for those who lacked family already established in Mobotropolis.

N.I.C.O.L.E., now existing inside the computer network, was proving to be invaluable to Bunnie in matching new arrivals to families, a task Bunnie was thoroughly enjoying as she got to see so many happy faces.

"Mrs.? Mrs.?" came an elderly voice as the former cyborg's attention was drawn to a pair of elderly mole rats. "My wife is feeling cold, may I trouble you for a blanket?" Bunnie smiled at the pair.

"Of course not, sugah, tain't no trouble at all," Rabbot said as she moved to fetch the requested blanket. As she opened the locker containing such little comforts for their guests, a slight cough entered the openings of one of her long ears.

_&Poor dear,&_ Bunnie thought to herself, turning to the source of the cough and spotting a fox and vixen.

"Ma'am? Would you all like something for that cough o' yours while I'm in here?"

"Thank you my dear," the vixen said as her companion, obviously her husband if Bunnie was any judge of such things, got off his seat and gently took an offered bottle of medicine from the former Freedom Fighter and gave it to his ailing wife. With a smile, Bunnie left the two foxes and returned to the mole rats. Having taken care of the elderly couple, she turned around to find the male fox from before standing behind her.

"Yipe," the rabbit said, startled by the fox's sudden appearance. He did cut something of an intimidating figure before the smaller female, especially with one of his eyes covered by a black eye-patch.

"Forgive me my dear, I did not mean to startle you," the fox said, bowing slightly before Bunnie. "I was wondering if you might know how long this checking process will take?"

"Why, is your wife in need of a doctor?" Bunnie asked.

"No, no, nothing so urgent… though it is very important to us," the fox assured his hostess. "We are anxious to begin searching the city for someone."

"A family member?" Bunnie asked. "If that's the case maybe we can help you start right here. N.I.C.O.L.E.'s kept track of all the deroboticized citizens. Are you looking for a brother, an aunt, and sister?" At the rabbit's questions, the fox suddenly seemed to get a little embarrassed, his tail twisting around his leg in a manner that seemed strangely familiar to Bunnie.

"I am… a touch reluctant to speak of this matter to a stranger, even one as brave and heroic as yourself my dear."

"Shucks, it's all right," the flattered lapine said, her cheeks blushing under her fur. "You be amazed how many people have ta ask our help ta find someone, no shame in that."

"Under normal circumstances I suppose, but…"

"Amadeus, have you found an answer yet?" the vixen asked, standing weakly near the two Mobians.

"I was about to, my love. You shouldn't be up, you are still weak from the deroboticization."

"I don't care, I refuse to wait any longer," the vixen protested.

"Rosemary…"

"I want my baby back, Amadeus!" Bunnie's eyes widened as looked at the two foxes.

"Your… your baby?" Two sets of ears folded against their respective heads as large bushy tails fell to the ground, a clear sign both were unhappy.

"I'm afraid so," Amadeus told her. "When we were captured, my wife had recently given birth to our first child. When we split up to evade capture, Rosemary hid our son in the bough of a tree to prevent the SWATbots from capturing him. We… did not trust in Robotnik to be merciful to an infant." Bunnie's eyes were further widening as she listened to the story, an all too familiar memory rising to the surface. Both foxes looked at the rabbit, unwilling to move to the all too predictable conclusion of their story.

"I know it seems farfetched," Rosemary began, mistaking Bunnie's introspection for condescending pity. "I know how slim a chance it is that he is out there, but…"

"We didn't believe we'd be freed from Robotnik either," Amadeus concluded.

"Sir, Ma'am, can… can I ask you a question?" Bunnie began, feeling a little like the child she was speaking to full grown adults. Both foxes looked at her, perhaps expecting some sort of placation, a gentle attempt to get them to settle down and be patient. "What is yer last name?"

"Prower. Amadeus and Rosemary Prower."

&& && && && &&

Sally smiled as she looked at the papers sitting on her desk, a clear contradiction of her feelings towards such mundane and boring tasks. She couldn't help it though; the arrival of new citizens to her city always put her in an excellent mood, even considering her more long term problems.

"SALLY!" Bunnie screamed as the monitor near the new Queen came to life, knocking the squirrel Mobian from her chair and to the floor in alarm.

"Bunnie, you nearly gave me a heart attack. What is it, is there a problem with the refugees?" Sir Charles had told the Freedom Fighters that the deroboticization process was a taxing experience for the body to go through. Ever since he'd let that little bit of information slip, Sally had harbored something of a fear that someone would die for it, a last victim of Dr. Robotnik's that the former Freedom Fighter leader could not protect.

"Sally-girl, ya'll are never gonna guess who was with the last group of refugees," Bunnie stated, either not hearing or not caring what Sally had said as a bright light gleamed in her eyes. "Mr. and Mrs. Prower…" the bunny answered, clarifying, "Tails's parents!" For a few brief moments Sally was frozen as she stared at the monitor, the words her best friend had told her slowly sinking into her skull.

"The Prowers? Are you sure?" Sally finally asked, a feeling appearing in her chest that was both enlivening and, at the same time, a dead weight in her breast.

"That's what they claim," Bunnie responded, suddenly feeling suspicious. The young fox was the youngest of the group that had successfully dethroned Robotnik and freed Mobius, and quite famous in his own right thanks both to role he'd played in that particular event, as well as his efforts afterward. Was it so impossible that a pair of unscrupulous foxes, having heard of Tails's own situation, had decided to masquerade as his missing parents and cash in of the young engineer's reputation? "Do you think they're lyin'."

"I… I don't think so…" Sally thought. It seemed too good to be true, but on the other hand… Tails had been so angry lately, and this news would probably go a long way towards hopefully patching the rift between the young kit and his older friends. Still… "We have no reason not to believe them, but at the same time…"

"Sally, if I may," N.I.C.O.L.E. broke in.

_&Odd, since when did N.I.C.O.L.E. feel the need to be so… servile?&_ Sally thought to herself. "Of course N.I.C.O.L.E., what is it you need?"

"While it is indeed possible that these foxes are simply attempting to con their way into gaining custodianship of young Miles, it is unlikely they have been able to prepare any true way to evade discovery if their claim were fraudulent, especially in the short amount of time they have been flesh and free again," the cyber-lynx observed. "Might I suggest a discreet analysis to check the validity of their claim?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Ms. Rabbot, is it true that the 'Prowers' are still awaiting their examinations before being released into the city?"

"Yeah," Bunnie responded, a low-level of suspicion in her voice. Though she had understood and eventually accepted, as had all the Freedom Fighters save Sonic, N.I.C.O.L.E.'s actions towards Tails, that did not mean the young rabbit approved, and it made her somewhat mistrustful of the computerized entity.

"Then I will procure an extra sample of their blood and attempt to compare the DNA with Miles's."

"Now wait just a minute. That seems just a little underhanded if'n ya'll ask me," spoke up Bunnie.

"Maybe, but I can assure you it is the most effective way possible to determine whether or not they are indeed my young ward's parents."

"It does leave a bad taste in my mouth N.I.C.O.L.E.."

"I understand, Sally, but I would much rather that than be forced trying to find Miles should they indeed prove to be lying." Sally closed her eyes and placed her hand in her chin as she mulled over both of her friends' advice.

"N.I.C.O.L.E., if the test does prove they are indeed his parents, and any one of them finds out, what is the most likely result?" It was somewhat amusing to see the digitized image heave a sigh as she crunched the probable numbers in her mind.

"There are two possible outcomes concerning the two unknown foxes, but only one that I can see for Miles. Predictably the discovery of this inquiry will no doubt cause young Miles to cease allowing him to trust you. For his parents, however, the most likely scenario is that they will understand our need for caution, particularly given the situation we find ourselves in, but a second possibility is that they will see it as a sign their new monarch does not trust them."

"See…"

"However, I also predict that should the tests prove negative and they are indeed merely strangers taking advantage, this might actually be a benefit for you and Sonic."

"How so?"

"The main bone of contention Miles has with you and Sonic is the belief that you do not have his best interest at heart, hence why you attempted to adopt him before finding the fate of the Prowers," N.I.C.O.L.E. explained. "However, Miles is an extremely precocious boy. No doubt he would also understand the inherent risks of you taking this action, especially where your new subjects were concerned. It is most likely that, by running this risk simply to ensure his safety, you will once again convince him of your sincerity towards his well-being."

"Sally, I hate to sound pushy, but ya'll can't be considerin' this, can you?" Bunnie asked, aghast at what she was hearing. "It's one thing ta want to protect him if we suspected something, but yer talkin' about invadin' someone's privacy on an off chance."

"You're right Bunnie, you're right," Sally told her friend. "I think DNA testing might be a little extreme. But I don't think we should tell Tails just yet, just in case."

"All right Sally-girl," a placated Bunnie said as she smiled, glad she'd talked some sense into the Queen. "I'll see if I can't find anything out, and I'm sure you could probably learn a few things when you meet 'em." With that, the formerly cybernetic rabbit terminated her side of the conversation.

"N.I.C.O.L.E.?"

"Yes Sally?"

"Should a DNA comparison test conclusively prove these two are Tails's parents, how thoroughly could you make sure it never came to light such a course of action had been taken?"

"I guarantee, no one will ever know it occurred," N.I.C.O.L.E. answered. Again Sally began to think.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Big guy," Sonic called to the two-tailed fox he'd spotted walking down the castle hallway. The kit's fur bristled at the hedgehog's nickname for him, less than pleased that Sonic seemed to be so willing to write off Tails's feelings regarding their damaged relationship. Still, there was no denying the fox still had feelings for the hedgehog.

"What Sonic?" the fox asked irritably. Unwilling to be deterred by his former best friend's attitude, the blue hedgehog pressed forward.

"I was just wonderin' if you'd be up to hangin' out," Sonic answered, his hand grasping the young pilot's shoulder. "Maybe we could do something like we used to." At this, Tails's blue eyes lit up.

"Really? Like maybe go visit the Power Ring Pool back in Knothole? Or maybe we can go to our 'Secret Place,' huh?" Sonic's ears suddenly went down as he listened to the kit speak.

"Tails…." In response the fox in question's eyes became just a little harder.

"Ooh I know, let's go into the city and grab a chili-dog! And then maybe we could go for a run in the park, right?" Suddenly the false smile on the kitsune's face fell to a scowl. "Oh wait, that's right, N.I.C.O.L.E. said I can't leave the castle, didn't she? How, oh how could I have forgotten that?"

"Okay, point taken but…"

"But what, Sonic?" Tails asked. "But maybe we can just slip off without her knowing? Maybe we can convince her to give me a little bit of leeway just this once? Is that what you were thinking?"

"Look, I know you're just a little upset, but that's no reason to start acting like some kind of brat," Sonic said, his own eyes narrowing as he glared at the kit in annoyance. "All I wanted to do was talk. We haven't actually spoken all that much since the… incident." Tails's body went rigid at this statement.

"You mean when you and Sally tried to… adopt me."

"We weren't doing it to hurt you, ya know. Ya don't have to act like we were."

"Too bad, you did," Tails said as he folded his arms across his chest and turned his back to the now royal hedgehog. The sound of a huff of breath being released came to the young Prower's ears.

_&Great, now comes the part where he tries to hold me and convince me that he wants my forgiveness,&_ Tails thought. It was hard enough having to live under the same roof as the royal couple, but it was doubly aggravating that all of his friends kept trying to get him to forgive and forget the hedgehog and squirrel's arrogant and inconsiderate…

"You snotty little creep," Sonic suddenly said, a statement that caused the younger Mobian's eyes to open wide in surprised. The blue hedgehog had never, ever talked to the young fox like that, not even when he'd been quarrelsome about going to bed, taking a bath, or any of the other times the boy had been uncooperative.

"What?" Tails asked as he turned back, disbelief and more than a little resentfulness on his face. If Tails looked perturbed, Sonic looked absolutely furious as he glared down at the fox, the difference in their heights more than enough to deflate kit's bravado.

"I let you get away with an awful lot around here, especially for the last few months, but do you have any idea how ungrateful you've been acting?"

"Ungrateful…?" Tails asked, his anger rising. This was the same argument Sally had used. Obviously they'd been preparing this. The fox opened his mouth to give his typical retort, only to be cut off by his former hero.

"Yeah, ungrateful, especially given how much thought was put into our decision, and how much it actually hinged on you accepting it," Sonic continued, the volume of his voice rising with his anger, brimming at the surface low these past few months, just as Tails's had been. The only difference was that Tails had let off his bit by bit with barbs and cold comments, whereas Sonic had not. "Who the blazes do you think you are?! I understand being angry, but to accuse me, to accuse SALLY, of deliberately not searching for your parents just so we could keep you… That's low, man, that's Robotnik low."

"How dare…"

"Shut it, Prower, I'm not done yet," Sonic snapped, brandishing a fist at the kit in a threatening manner. Somehow Tails had found himself backed into a wall, giving him no room to maneuver should the hedgehog he was sure he could not defeat actually attack him. And as angry as Sonic was, Tails was not entirely sure the Hero of Mobius was not prepared to carry out his threat. "Do you have any idea how much thought Sal put into deciding to adopt you? She was up nights on end coming up with every reason why she SHOULDN'T do it, just to make sure she knew it was the right thing. She had N.I.C.O.L.E. research every law on Mobius trying to find out some way to make it so, if your oh-so-venerated parents were found at ANY point; they could claim you without any trouble. We thought up every way we could to think of what we would need to make the transition smooth for you, just in case some nutjob tried to make trouble, but we never expected you'd be the nutjob. You rant, you rave, and you run away, scaring everyone to death in the process. And then you actually threaten yourself with bodily harm?! Do you have any idea how scared we were? Sally couldn't even sleep those nights, she was so afraid we'd come down there and find you lying dead on a console. N.I.C.O.L.E. may have been a witch to do what she did, but you can't deny that YOU'RE the one who drove her too it. For Walkers' sakes, what did you expect?"

"That you guys tell her to bug off."

"And that's another thing! Even now, even almost six months after the fact, you still keep acting like this is all our fault! News flash, we're not the ones who threatened to kill someone if we didn't get our way. And then, I try to talk with you, and you pull this stupid 'holier than thou' routine you've been trying to play. And I am sick of it!"

"Who cares, you're not my father, you just… 'King!'" Tails retorted. A white gloved hand shot forward and Tails's eyes closed as he half expected Sonic to have finally had enough and decided to hit him. Pain came to his jaw as fingers and thumb suddenly gripped his white muzzle hard enough for his teeth to press hard against the inside of his cheeks.

"You're right, I'm not your father, never claimed to be your father, and, truth be told, wasn't exactly ever planning on BEING your father." Tails's eyes widened just a little at this revelation. "Sally's the one who played Mommy with you, kid, 'cause she wanted you to grow up feeling like you had a family. Me, I wasn't so sure I'd make a good Dad. In fact I know I wouldn't've, nowhere near responsible enough for that. So, if you recall, I became your 'Big Brother.' And that means that I get to love you, I get to protect you, but, when push comes to shove, I don't have to coddle you. I get to tell you when you're acting like an idiot; I get to tell you when you're behaving stupid. And I don't have to sugar-coat it. Well, 'Little Bro,' I'm telling you right now! You're acting like an idiot. You're acting stupid. You're twelve years old and I KNOW you've been raised better than this; I had a hand in it. I get that you want your real parents, but that wasn't happenin' then, it's not happenin' now, and, very honestly, I hope to the Walkers it doesn't happen soon, 'cause I'd hate for your parents to come back and see what an obnoxious, spoiled rotten, little brat their son turned out to be." With that Sonic let go of his friend, who promptly dropped to a sitting position on the floor with a sharp yelp, and turned to walk away. As tears began to well up in his eyes, Tails decided he didn't like this. Sonic wasn't supposed to act like that. He was supposed to be sorry, to understand, not call Tails names, or yell hurtful wishes at him.

"Sonic," the kit called after his departing hero.

"You know what Miles," Sonic said, causing Tails to wince as Sonic used his proper name, "I don't think I want to talk to you right now, I'm too disgusted with you to want to listen." His feet revving up, Sonic took off at a blinding speed, leaving behind a small, sad fox.

&&&&&

As he raced out the palace doors, Sonic focused on his speed and course. He had to. At the velocity he was traveling, even a minor slip-up could send the hedgehog flying into a building with a bone crunching course. It was perhaps the universe's supreme irony that, for all the effort he'd put into trying to slow down or even stop Sonic's super fast feet, had Robotnik taken the opposite approach and caused his cobalt nemesis to slip and lose control, he would most assuredly have been rid of the "miserable rodent" once and for all.

And yet, even as he concentrated on maintaining his fantastic speed and control, Sonic couldn't help but feel as though the crushing force of being stopped by a wall would have been more than welcome compared to the pain he currently felt in his heart. He hated himself. Hated himself with a vengeance. Tails was in a fragile state of mind, the last thing he needed was to be completely betrayed by his best friend and hero. And yet, as Sonic had listened to himself as he'd spoken those horrible, angry words at the little cub, he'd been unable to stop them.

_&Stupid hedgehog,&_ Sonic chided himself, _&dumb mouth faster than both your feet and too much temper to have any sense.&_ And yet, even as he reviled himself, the young King couldn't bring himself to want to take any of it back. It was harsh. It was nasty. It was cruel.

And it was true.

Sonic had been patient, more patient than he probably would have with anyone else, including Sally come to think of it. He'd hoped that, with time, Tails would settle down, maybe try to open up again, see their side of the problem. And yet, all he'd done over the past months was to become more and more surly. And then, just as Sonic had tried to extend the proverbial olive branch of peace towards the kit, he'd had that same branch used to soundly rap his hands. And then he'd gone and used the branch to bludgeon the poor kit.

_&Stupid hedgehog,&_ Sonic again berated himself as he sped away.

&&&&&

Tails sat still for a long time, for what seemed like hours in fact, digesting what had been said to him.

_&How dare he…&_

He sat on the floor now, where Sonic had dropped him, his legs pulled up to his chest, his arms wrapped around his knees, and his head between them.

_&I'm right…&_

Twin tails gently rose and wrapped themselves around up and over his knees as tears rolled down his cheek to his knees.

_&He was supposed to understand…&_

A soft sobbing sound emanated from the orange furred body as it quivered ever so rightly.

_&He had no right…&_ Tails thought.

_&And you did?& _came the answer.

_&I'm not a brat,& _the fox defended.

_&You've certainly been acting like one,&_ was the response.

_&No I haven't! I'm mad. They were trying to steal me from my parents.&_ At last he had an infallible argument.

_&They weren't trying to steal you, moron, they were trying to help you.&_ Sharp teeth suddenly bit into a lower lip coated in white fur, not hard enough to actually break skin or draw blood, but enough so that it could be felt.

&_They should have looked for my parents instead!&_ he mentally screamed.

_&What made you think they weren't?& _was the question.

_&They tried to ADOPT me!& _Tails responded, quite obviously.

_&Circular logic, that's a flawed argument. 'They were trying to adopt me so they weren't looking for my parents and they weren't looking for my parents so they could adopt me.'& _A hiccup escaped the small form, causing the orange body to jump. For a few moments Tails's mind paused.

_&They shouldn't have let N.I.C.O.L.E. dominate me!&_ came the next vindictive thought. His treatment at the digital hands of the computer lynx had indeed been unfair. _&She had no right to blackmail me like that.&_

_&Oh yes, because you responded so well the last time Sonic and Sally tried to help you.&_ An obvious response, given the previous argument. _&And N.I.C.O.L.E.'s obviously willing to give up that leverage, most people who blackmail for personal gain don't do that.&_

_&Shut up.&_

_&You know you saw them.&_

_&…&_

_&And you didn't even try to say hello. The two people you keep claiming are the ones you wanted so much to be near you, and you snuck away without even letting them catch a glance at you.&_

_&It's Sonic and Sally's fault. They should have just left me alone.&_

_&You're right, how dare they try to do something good for you.&_ Tails's body shivered and another sob escaped his lips. _&We already went over this, we're just running in circles now.&_

_&…&_

_&They're probably still being checked in, you could go see them if you wanted to.&_ The orange body drew in tighter, shaking more. _&You don't want to, do you?&_

_&It's not that!&_

_&Sonic hit the nail on the head, didn't he? You're being a snotty, shameful brat, and you don't want them to be ashamed at what a lousy Mobian you've been to those who helped you so much. Heh. Even when he doesn't know it, that guy's aim is true and blue, huh?&_

_&He shouldn't have said that. He's supposed to be a hero, he's supposed to be MY hero.&_

_&Then shouldn't you have trusted him to do the right thing? Can't be much of hero then.&_

_&He's the greatest hero ever,& _Tails thought defensively, instinct taking over. _&He beat Robotnik, he save the world, he…&_

_&…couldn't find your parents immediately and fell from your little pedestal…&_

_&…&_

_&Everybody got to be happy and cheerful; except little Miles…&_

_&… Stop it…&_

_&Robotnik's gone, Mobius is free, families are coming back together… Sonic has his family, Antoine's with his dad, Rotor's mom is crowing with pride…&_

_&…please…&_

_&And through it all, poor pathetic Miles Prower is completely miserable…&_

_&…no…&_

_&In fact, the last time you were happy…&_

_&…shut up…&_

_&…was before Robotnik went down.&_ Tears fell freely from the kit's eyes, soaking the fur on his knees as his hands went to cover his ears in a vain attempt to block the voice.

_&Robotnik, the man who caused so much misery to everyone on the planet, was the one guy holding your happiness together. That's so pathetic its funny.&_

_&That's not true!&_

_&Sonic and Sally get married, Bunnie and Antoine are working hard trying to get people settled, and Rotor's working on designing the city. No wonder you thought you were being ignored.&_

_&Quiet…&_ Inside his gloves, sharp claws could be felt digging into his scalp as he held his ears harder.

_&But, you weren't were you? Sonic and Sally proved that at their wedding announcement, didn't they? And soon you'd have the same happiness you had before Robotnik got beaten… at least until those parents of yours were eventually found.&_

_&…stop it…&_

_&And then you'd get that same sense of awkward loneliness you got before… only this time it would be with people you don't know, your own parents.&_

_&…&_

_&So then of course, who really wasn't interested in finding your parents.&_

"NO!!" Quickly Tails jumped to his feet, tears tumbling down his cheeks as he leapt into the air and flew, desperate to escape this all too real accusation.

To be Concluded…


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I said it in the first chapter, I said it in the second chapter, and I said it in the third chapter… Well now I'm tired of saying it! I own Sonic the Hedgehog, MWA-HA-HA-HA-HA::Sound of police sirens coming to door:: Oh crud!! Sonic is owned by Sega, the SatAM version has ties to DiC. Please don't arrest me!!

Author's Note: On three here we go… One… Two… Three…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Sonic returned to the spot he'd left Tails, fully intending to try again to talk to the two tailed kit, and hopefully make amends for what he'd said earlier. True or not, Tails hadn't deserved to be chewed out like that. But the fox wasn't there. A certain amount of fear began to well up in the hedgehog's stomach. Not all that long ago, Tails had threatened them with his own death. Though Sonic had not been present for this little declaration, N.I.C.O.L.E. had been sure to record the event; support for the drastic actions she'd taken concerning him. Silently he cursed himself for being so stupid as to leave Tails alone after he'd been yelled at like that.

Revving up his feet, the cobalt King took off, his mission clear; find Tails, hopefully before he had a chance to get into more trouble, and hope to the Walkers that the kit would forgive Sonic for his earlier outburst.

"Sonic, my main hedgehog, what up?" came a clipped and mechanical voice as one of Robotnik's old spy orbs, now under new management thanks to N.I.C.O.L.E., appeared and started to keep pace with him. The voice was a throw back to the days when the little A.I. had been more primitive, less sophisticated, and it was often used in an attempt to put the hedgehog in a more agreeable mood when dealing with the cyber-lifeform.

"Not now N.I.C.O.L.E., I gotta juice for something important," Sonic answered.

"Sally wanted you to come with her to meet some new arrivals," N.I.C.O.L.E. pointed out.

"Didn't I already do the meet and greet? I'm a little too busy for this diplomatic stuff right now."

"These aren't your run of the mill refugees. Sally wants to have you meet them with her."

"Sorry but I've got more important things to do. Tails is missing." At the hedgehog's words, he could almost swear the spy orb's mechanical eye widened.

"What do you mean he is missing?" N.I.C.O.L.E. asked in a concerned voice. Sonic stopped in his running, a shamed look crossing his face as he gazed at the little robot.

"We kinda… got into an argument," Sonic admitted. "I said some harsh things, things I really didn't mean, but… I was angry; I couldn't stand it any more. And then I left him…"

"Where?" N.I.C.O.L.E. inquired. Getting upset over Sonic's characteristically reckless behavior would be of no help, especially now that the Prowers were actually in the castle and Tails's wish would soon be granted.

"Back there, but like I said when I came back he wasn't there."

"No doubt he has gone to ground again, as he did before when he perceived himself treated unfairly."

"Then we can't find him," Sonic said, a worried look coming to his normally cheerful features. "We never found out where he ran away to before and this isn't gonna be any different is it?"

"Things are quite different Sonic. This time I have command of all of Robotropolis's former defenses. I should be able to track him down, particularly if he has not left the palace. You continue to search manually; I shall inform the Queen that you are suitably indisposed."

"Didn't you an' Sal try that last time?"

"Last time I was asking the mainframe for assistance in locating our young fox… this time I AM the mainframe"

&& && && && &&

Lower Mobius. During the war, it had been a safehaven for the Freedom Fighters, particularly those too old or infirm to take an active role in the campaign against their sworn enemy. Situated directly beneath Robotropolis, its location was a closely guarded secret; especially amongst the free Mobians themselves, as one small slip up would allow Robotnik access to countless helpless victims on which to vent his considerable rage. Once the war had been won however, the underground city that had been such an asset to the Resistance had been all but abandoned, visited only a few times during those first few months to collect some remaining odd or end that was thought to be useful to the newly reclaimed city that stood above.

And why should that have not been the case? Dark and dank, alternatively drafty in the winter and hot in the summer, Lower Mobius possessed nowhere near the level of comfort Mobotropolis could offer, especially considering that its crystal power source had been removed, set to be used to help the returning Mobians get back on their feet. Thus had the sunken city been largely forgotten, pressed out of Mobian mind in favor of better or more important subjects.

The former leader of Lower Mobius, a young goat named Grif, had long understood the city's potential need to withstand a siege and thus had stockpiled nonperishable foods and potable water. Most of these stores had long since been pilfered of their goods, used no doubt to feed the burgeoning population above, but some remained, safe from microbes, feral rats, and the elements that would ruin them. It was to here that Tails had escaped to when he'd thrown his original tantrum over Sally and Sonic's offer of adoption, laying in the darkness and dankness for two whole weeks, an emergency penlight his only source of illumination. He'd groaned in hunger, taking what sustenance he could from those remaining stores, allowing his hatred and rage to eat him alive as he wept and screamed aloud his frustration. And it was here again that the fox found himself, familiarity being the only thing that drove him to this place.

It is said that misery loves company; a quaint expression often used to entice the miserable into seeking out others to discuss their problems and hopefully drive said problems away. The reality is that it is the misery makers that actually love company, all the better to spread misery into the general population. The miserable actually prefer solitude; away from those that might not hesitate to point out that the source of their pain is most likely found in their own actions and personality. Thus it was that young Tails, his conscience utilizing Sonic's verbal barrage to force an epiphany on him, found himself bawling like a baby in the darkness of what had once been Lower Mobius's main government building.

He was not the first Mobian to break down in such a way in these small rooms. Numerous were the ones who, having found their lives destroyed by the despotic doctor who ruled their planet, simply found it easier to curl up into a fetal position and let their emotions flow freely. It had not been all too common, especially towards the end of the war, but it happened, and now the walls once more absorbed the distressed wails of a soul forced to endure more than it could handle.

He hated Sonic. Hated the hedgehog for telling him those awful things, how the fox's behavior had been disappointing, unforgivable. And still his hero had tried to forgive him, willing to forget his friend's disgraceful behavior.

He hated N.I.C.O.L.E. for forcing him to stop pursuing his "goals," no matter the cost, even risking his own life to do so, just to escape the reality of his feelings. The computer, a lifeless artificial being, had no right to tell him he was acting poorly. And yet were he in the same position, watching a friend trying to kill himself so recklessly, would he not do the same.

He hated Sally, for trying to adopt him, trying to steal him, trying to love him. She was royalty, she was the Queen. She was supposed to love everyone, to turn her attentions towards protecting and caring for her subject once the war was won. And yet she'd still held Tails in the forefront of her mind, concerned with making sure the fox was happy, and even going so far as to give him access to the options he wanted when they came along.

He hated Robotnik, the tyrant who had torn his world asunder, stolen his parents, and rendered him an orphan, alone in the world for twelve years. And yet it had not been Tails's world that had been torn asunder, it had been Sally's, Sonic's, Antoine's, Bunnie's, and all his other friends. Tails had instead gotten a hero and role model he wouldn't have otherwise had. He'd been cared for and loved with the hearts and souls of all those who by rights should have been the most upset over their loss. Robotnik had terrified him but, however inadvertently; he had been the one to give Tails a family.

And for that high crime, Tails hated himself most of all. He who had faced the fall of Robotropolis not with the happiness and joy of the others, but with the fear and trepidation of one who knew his life to be changing, and irrevocably too. He who had latched onto the worst possible scenario; now reunited with their own families, those who had professed to love him would leave him. And yet they hadn't left him, had they? They'd stayed with him, cared for him, kept him warm and well-fed and tried their best to do what would make him happy. They'd offered him a place in their re-forged family, fully prepared to accept it if he chose to make that place a temporary one.

And he'd thrown it in their faces, he'd accused them of falsely caring for him, believing with all his heart that their affection could no longer be true. All through his nights in Knothole, he'd dreamed of his parents finding him at the war's end, of them taking him home, of himself living happily ever after.

Of leaving the Freedom Fighters simply because he now had the life he was supposed to have.

Oh how he hated that thought, that dream. How petty it made him feel; how utterly worthless. His friends, his family had never had any intention of dumping him, or phasing him out of their lives. He'd been the only one thinking of that. And even as he'd thought of that, he'd been unhappy, because once more he'd be losing those he wanted to keep. Sally couldn't come play "Auntie" for his family; she was Queen and would have to stay with her people, serving them as best she could, even as she had during the war. Rotor was immersed in repairing the city, he would have no time to tutor Tails in engineering as he'd done back in Knothole. Bunnie too had her own responsibilities, responsibilities that kept her too busy to come over and play house in Tails's young fantasies of home life. And Sonic… Sonic was receiving the hero's welcome he so richly deserved for championing the fight against Robotnik. He was back with his beloved Uncle Chuck and his own parents. In short, he was happy.

_&And like the selfish little brat I am, I had to heap all my guilt on him,&_ Tails thought miserably. Guiltiest of all was the realization that only one thing could have made him happy, one simple desire the selfishness of which was unbridled in all the history of Mobius.

_&I wanted the war to keep going, I wanted Robotnik to stay in power,&_ the cub angrily thought, his hands practically tearing at his own head fur as he thought that treasonous thought. All the effort his friends, his family, had put out, all the suffering they'd endured to secure a free and safe future for their world, for him and, as it turned out, he'd been rooting for the other side.

_&Ungrateful little freak!&_ Tails chided himself. _&Better if you just stay down here this time, where you won't cause any more trouble.&_ Sonic was mad at him, and if that was the case than no doubt Sally was too, and everyone else. Even N.I.C.O.L.E. had been forced to shed her more compact form and take on new duties to deal with the two-tailed troublemaker that had so managed to destabilize the group with his infantile behavior.

A loud wail escaped the fox's open mouth. He hadn't bawled like this since he was a literal baby crying over an "owie" or needing his bottle. That knowledge alone filled the twelve year old with more shame.

_&Baby behaved like a selfish brat and let everyone down and now he can't handle it,&_ came the mocking thoughts in the back of the fox's mind. _&Baby can't even own up to what he's done, especially now that his parents are really here and all he'll HAVE to choose between them and the Freedom Fighters.&_ Tails's thoughts were interrupted as the sound of the hard soles of shoes walking on rock. His eyes, blurry with tears and used to the pitch darkness of the caves, were suddenly blinded as a bright light shone into them.

"Tails!" a familiar voice called happily as the footsteps picked speed. Suddenly the fox boy felt himself being encompassed in a pair of arms that proceeded to press him tightly against a warm body.

"S-Sonic?" the fox asked, the combination of his tumultuous psyche and the bright light disorienting him as he continued to sob.

"Oh little buddy, thank the Walkers I found you," Sonic spoke again, his voice filled with a vast relief as his hand began to gently stroke the back of Tails's head. Quietly the fox sniffled, drawing in his hero's musky scent as he did so, the warmth and reassurance he felt from the familiar hedgehog serving only to cause his anger at his own worthlessness to rise to the surface again.

"Nooo. You… you weren't supposed to find me," Tails said as he wiggled away from the hedgehog, unintentionally scratching Sonic's chest with his claws as he did so. Sonic didn't even flinch as he watched his best friend back away in revulsion. "Please, please just go away."

"Aww kid, please don't be angry," Sonic begged, taking a step forward. "Look I'm sorry about what I said, it was wrong and…"

"No! No it wasn't!" Tails cried as tears shone in his fur from the light Sonic had used to navigate his way down into Lower Mobius. "You were right, you were!"

"No, I shouldn't have said those things…" Sonic tried to console his upset friend.

"But they were true. I am a brat, I am ungrateful," Tails retorted. "I'm not even a good friend!" A loud cry flew from boy's mouth as he fell to his hands and knees.

"Come on, big guy, that ain't true," the hedgehog said, taking a seat next to his bawling friend. "You're the best friend I ever had; my Little Bro."

"No I'm not! I'm a terrible friend, to you and the other Freedom Fighters!"

"Okay, okay, I admit you haven't exactly been a ball of sunshine for the past few months, but considering everthing…"

"I wanted Robotnik to win!" Tails suddenly screamed, descending back into uncontrollable sobbing as he did so. Sonic's hand suddenly backed away at this declaration, a surprised look on his face as he stared at the downtrodden fox.

"Say what?"

"I… I didn't want you to beat Robotnik, I didn't want the war to end, and I didn't want to give up my life! I know it's rotten, I know it's selfish, and I'm sorry, but I can't help it!" At this point Sonic noticed Tails was beginning to have trouble breathing, his sobs costing him more air than he was able to take in.

"Its okay, its okay, kid, you just need to calm down," Sonic said, once more stroking the prone fox's back and head as he spoke. "I'm sure you don't mean that."

"Yes… Yes I do. I thought if you guys got to come back here, you'd forget about me. But you didn't and then I felt terrible. And then you guys offered to adopt me, and I couldn't take it. If I'd gotten what I wanted, you guys would still be trapped in Knothole and miserable. So I just blew up and pretended you were being mean!" Suddenly beige arms wrapped around the fox's soft, quivering body and pulled him somewhat roughly into a firm lap. Fully expecting Sonic was now going to punish him for being such an insolent jerk, Tails squeezed his eyes shut, awaiting the smack that was sure to come. Slowly the hedgehog began to rock back and forth with the fox, his cheek resting tightly on the boy's forehead as he allowed the sobbing child to continue to cry in his arms. The blue hedgehog's mind trailed back to the time in his life when he'd broken down, just after Robotnik had destroyed his life. It had been into Rosie's arms he'd cried then, and if he hadn't, he wasn't sure he would be the hedgehog he'd become to help win the war.

Time passed as Tails continued to weep and wallow in misery, Sonic stroking him gently and whispering small placations in the boy's ear. Once or twice the tide of tears seemed to be ebb, and Sonic thought the vulpine was coming to an end of his fit, only to be washed down with salty cries anew as the crying became louder. Slowly the crying began to lessen, gradually becoming a soft whimpering as he was rocked. Finally the fox was silent and Sonic could hear him speaking.

"Why? Why? Why?" Tails asked continually as Sonic rocked him.

"Why what?" Sonic asked softly, still cradling his broken little friend in his hands, and silently wishing someone with more ability in the soothing arts was here now, more capable of calming the devastated fox.

"Why don't you hate me? You're supposed to hate me. I'm a traitor. I wanted Robotnik to stay in power. I didn't want you to get your parents back," Tails explained.

"Ah kid, I could never hate you, not matter what," Sonic confessed. "Best buds forever, remember?"

"But…"

"You didn't want Robotnik to win, you're just telling yourself that 'cause you wanna feel bad," Sonic explained. "You just didn't want to lose what you had in Knothole."

"I didn't want to find my parents, I didn't want to be taken away from you and Aunt Sally," the fox admitted, a few last sobs escaping him.

"I know, I know. But you didn't need to worry. Your parents could take you to the other side of Mobius, I'd still visit. And so would Sally, and the others. We'd find a way to make it work."

"But… but your families…" Tails interjected, looking up with his tear stained blue eyes at the hedgehog.

"Oh kid, you're part of our family, don't you know that by now?" Sonic answered with a smile. "I call you my Little Bro, and I mean it. If I have to make day trips all over the planet to keep that alive, then I'll stock up on running shoes." For the first time in a long time a chuckle escaped Tails's lips as he imagined this playing out. The moment his mind came to that thought, however, he frowned as he remembered what was going on above ground. "Something wrong big guy?"

"My parents. They came in with the new refugees this morning," Tails admitted. Sonic looked at his young friend quizzically.

"You sure?" he asked, his tone neutral as he tried to gauge how Tails was taking this particular event.

"I… I think so. I mean, they look like the file photos in the computer, so I assumed. I… I thought you knew, when you told me that you hoped…"

"Thought that might come back to bite me in the spines," Sonic said dejectedly. "I'm sorry I said that to you. It was uncalled for, especially considering what you were going through. I was just so mad…" If Tails had heard this apology, he showed no signs.

"When I saw them on the ship, I got so scared they'd just take me away, I didn't even let them see me," Tails admitted.

"So they don't know you're here, huh?" Softly the hedgehog chuckled. "Kid, I know we told ya to prepare for the worst, but the other half of that is to hope for the best. Maybe they'll decide to hang out here and help out with rebuilding Mobotropolis, did you ever think of that?" The look on the fox's face told Sonic that the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. A smile came to his lips. "You silly fuzzball, your parents used to live here, why wouldn't they want to stay, especially given how much their son did to win the city back for them?"

"You think so?"

"I don't see why not. It'd be like Uncle Chuck packing up and leaving, or General Depardieu, or the Rabbots. I'm bettin' Commander Prower wants to help get this city back on track just as much as they do."

"Most likely," N.I.C.O.L.E. suddenly said as a spy orb made its presence known to the two Mobians. A sour look came to Sonic's face as he noted the small machine.

"How long have you been there?" the hedgehog asked acidly, clearly put out that his tender moment with his "little brother" had not been as private as he wanted.

"Long enough to hear your conversation about the Prowers," N.I.C.O.L.E. said. "If you recall, I'm the one who led you down here. I merely wished to make sure you'd located Miles. Before that, I was sent to summon you precisely because Sally wanted you to meet these foxes."

"And why not Tails?" Sonic asked.

"Sally was unsure as to the veracity of their claim. She did not feel it wise to tell Tails they were here until the two of you knew for certain they were his parents."

"What'dya say kid, you wanna see if you're right and they are your parents?"

"Sonic, I don't think Sally would…"

"Sal's got a right to be suspicious, but I don't think it'd hurt to spoil the surprise." With that, Sonic got up, still holding Tails in his arms before putting the young fox on the ground. That was when he noticed the vulpine's normally active tails were still dragging the ground as he face looked downtrodden. "Somethin' still on your mind, bro?"

"What if… What if they don't like me? What if they're ashamed of me?" Sonic knelt down, gripping the cub's shoulders and looking directly into his cerulean eyes.

"You listen to me Miles Prower. If those people turn out to be your 'rents, and they're stupid enough not to want a great kid like you, I'll bounce their butts back into the roboticizer if you want. Just remember, no matter what, Sally and I are both proud of you and we both love you and, most of all, we both want you. There is no way this can turn out badly for you, I guarantee it." Tails's left tail perked up as a smile came to his face at Sonic's words. "Remember, hope for the best, right?" The hedgehog held up a gloved fist before the fox.

"Right Sonic," Tails answered, sniffing a little as he struck the proffered fist with his own. "Right."

&& && && && && &&

Sally was beginning to get nervous as she led her two guests through the newly rebuilt castle, showing off what the Freedom Fighters had managed to accomplish in such a short time. The foxes were here under the false story that there had been a delay on their test results from their examination, a story that was being supported by N.I.C.O.L.E. keeping the diagnostic machines on the fritz, and so Sally was unwilling to cut two of her newest subjects loose. Considering that Amadeus had been a Commander in the Kingdom's former Army, the Squirrel Queen had wanted to make sure they weren't left alone to wait in boredom. Now though, as she glanced at Amadeus and Rosemary Prower, she couldn't help but notice how anxious the two looked. She'd offered them food, but they'd both declined, indicating they were eager to begin their search for their son.

_&Where are you Sonic?&_ Sally thought irritably. It was so like her beloved husband to behave so irresponsibly, but she really needed his help as she worked to determine if these two were who they claimed to be.

"So, Rosemary, where did you say you were originally from?" Sally asked casually.

"The Southern Peninsula, your Highness," the vixen answered. "I met Amadeus when he was down there for training."

"The Southern Peninsula you say? My best friend Bunnie is from there."

"Most fascinating, your highness," the male fox said in a polite tone.

"Sal!" came a voice that made the Queen give an inward sigh of relief even as she drew an indignant huff. Sonic had arrived.

"Ah, my husband the King, my friends," Sally said as she introduced the blue hedgehog. Before either fox had a chance to bow, Sonic quickly extended his hand for a shake instead.

"A pleasure to meet you, I'm sure," Amadeus told the hedgehog as he gripped the gloved hand in his own furry one. "Your wife here has been giving us a tour of the castle as we await word we are fit to leave."

"Fit to leave?" Sonic asked, a confused look coming to his face. "Ya just got here and you're already tryin' ta leave us?"

"With all due respect, your Highnesses," Rosemary explained, "as we told Ms. Rabbot, we are most anxious to begin searching for our son."

"I feel ya, I feel ya," Sonic assured the two foxes as he walked back towards the corner in the hall he'd appeared from. "But you never know; what you're looking for might just be…" With a soft tug, Sonic pulled a familiar orange form into view. "…closer than you think." For a few brief moments the three foxes stared at each other. The two elder vulpines looked in astonishment at the two tailed kitsune standing before them, even as Tails seemed to shrink back a little under their scrutiny.

"Sonic, what do you think you're doing?" Sally asked, more than a little surprised at the brash action her husband had taken.

"Relax Sal," Sonic counseled, even as he watched the reunion.

"M-Miles? Is that you?" Rosemary asked, perhaps not believing that her quest had ended before it had even had a chance to start.

"My… My name is Miles Prower," Tails answered her, still unsure of what they were making of him. Suddenly, with a speed that might just have impressed Sonic, the vixen had grabbed the cub in a bone crushing embrace.

"My baby, my baby," she cried, joyful tears coming to her eyes. Tails closed his own and soon the female's scent wafting into his nose and triggering a comforting feeling in his body.

"M-Mom?"

"H-How?" Commander Prower asked, turning his head to the royal couple.

"We found him, near the war's beginning, in the Great Forest," Sally admitted. "We've been raising him ever since."

"Oh thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Mrs. Prower called as she ran her fingers gently through her son's soft fur, as if making absolutely sure he wasn't going to just fade away like a ghost. "Miles, my precious, sweet Miles."

"You… You were one of the Freedom Fighters?" Tails's father asked as he approached his wife and son. Reluctantly did Rosemary release the cub, though her hand remained locked on one of his wrists, determined to prevent them from being separated a second time. Tails gazed at the male fox that had sired him, more than a bit impressed with the way this Mobian carried himself.

"Well, not… not at first…" he began to admit.

"Maybe not, but he sure did prove himself when he graduated training," Sonic pointed out, unwilling to allow his friend to sell himself short. At those words, Amadeus Prower suddenly dropped to one knee before Tails, causing the kit to back up a step.

"Then it appears, Miles, that your mother and I owe you our lives as well as our freedom," he said somberly before clasping the younger fox in a hug. The same feeling of warmth and security filled Tails as the elder male did this, and he smiled a little.

"Well," Sally interrupted, "this appears to be a happy day for all of you." Remembering where he was, military decorum took over as Amadeus released Tails standing to face the King and Queen.

"It now becomes apparent why you did stall us, my dear," the fox said with a smile. "I thank you for having the foresight to keep us from traveling far and wide in search of a precious treasure that had already been found."

"Sure, no prob," Sonic responded, allowing Sally to save face over the real reason she'd been stalling. "Hey, I got an idea. Since it's so close to din-din time, how about you join us?"

"Will you, please?" Tails asked, hopeful that his parents would take to being sociable with the two most important people in his life. Looking into his son's eyes, and those of his wife, Amadeus smiled.

"I believe we have time now."

&& && && && &&

In the end, dinner was kept simple, due more to the tastes and style of the ruling couple than for any other reason. Having spent so many years having her meals under casual conditions lacking all but the most basic ceremony, Sally found it awkward now to attempt to stand of ceremony for something as simple as dinner. Though she could, and did, make such mundane events more ceremonious if necessary, she preferred the more intimate appeal of small, simple dinners. For Sonic's part, he was simply an everyday hedgehog of the people at heart and, while he sometimes found the pomp and ceremony funny in a pompous sort of way, his tastes always ran towards more friendly and personal events.

Thus it was that the Prower's first taste of Mobotropolis came at a relatively small table where they dined on simple baked fish, a salad, and cherry flavored soda. Not that the two foxes seemed to mind, more wrapped up in paying attention as their newfound son recounted the events of his life after being found by Sonic, with the hedgehog supplying a running commentary while Sally offered simple clarification. Though the neither the Commander or his wife seemed overly thrilled Tails had essentially grown-up in a war zone, neither seemed overly willing to quibble over what was now the irrevocable past.

"…and then I shut down the peripheral defense systems while Sally and N.I.C.O.L.E. did the same to the SWATbot Command Computer," Tails said, coming to the close of his story. "Without any reinforcements, Robotnik attempted to escape into the Void, but Sonic broke the control device for the portal and it destabilized. We're not one hundred percent sure what happened to Robotnik, but neither Naugus nor the King say he showed up with them… and Naugus searched like there was no tomorrow."

"I see," Amadeus said, closing his eyes as he digested this story. His eyes finally opened and he turned to Queen Sally. "And what of the King, your Highness. I cannot imagine it is in your nature to allow him to remain trapped in another dimension."

"No, of course not. I have quite a few people working to solve the problem of rescuing him from the Void. Unfortunately, the demands of the people must come first and, with Mobotropolis still in need of repair, as well as the always increasing population, I'm afraid I have been unable to devote the resources to rescuing him that I would like to."

"Noblesse oblige," Rosemary stated. "The needs of the people must always be considered. Both of you parents believed that statement, and I'm sure they would both approve of your actions."

"I know my father does," Sally replied. "We may not have been able to rescue him, but Rotor was able to repair the portal, so we are able to talk."

"So Amay, Rose, tell us a little bit about yourselves? I mean Tails has been givin' all the good stories so far, but I bet you got some great ones yourselves." At this point, husband and wife cast a glance at each other.

"I'm afraid we have very little in the way interesting stories. The only true adventure we had together… only recently was able to have a happy ending." Amadeus answered.

"How did that happen anyway?" Tails asked, curious now. It had always been a source of wonder for him as to how they had become separated enough to where they'd been captured but he had remained free enough to be found by Sonic. A soft squeeze came to his left knee, causing him to look over towards his Aunt Sally whose face held a slight look of disapproval. She then looked back towards her guests.

"That is, if you feel up to recounting the tale," she said, her face now showing an understanding if they chose not to.

"It's all right, your Highness, though I am afraid the story is not an overly impressive one, Miles. We simply attempted to flee Robotropolis when it became apparent Robotnik could not be stopped. We escaped into the Great Forest with our son and a several other refugees, only to be pursued by SWATbots. I separated from Rosemary with some of the others in an attempt to hold them off while our comrades escaped. Unfortunately I failed."

"When I heard the SWATbots were continuing their pursuit, I knew it would only be a matter of time before they caught up with us. I hid Miles in the safe bough of a tree and attempted to lead them away from him, fully intending to return for him once I'd lost the robots myself, but, as you can no doubt deduce, I was unsuccessful."

"Well don't worry, we kept Tails safe for ya," Sonic said proudly, causing the fox in question and his adopted Aunt to shake their heads in embarrassment at the hedgehog's outburst.

"'Tails,'" Amadeus spoke, testing the nickname in his lips. "I still cannot get used to such a nickname. But then I suppose I'll have to get used to a lot of things, such as having a child who has jumped from infant to pre-teen in the space of a memory." At his words, the elder fox held an amused expression on his face. For his part, Tails seemed just a little ashamed.

"I… I was a little embarrassed about my name when I was younger," Tails admitted, a pinch of red showing on his cheeks through his fur. "I don't know if you realized it when you gave me the name, but Miles Prower…" His father held up his hand in understanding.

"Say no more. You're actually Miles Prower II, named after your grandfather," Amadeus explained, a thoughtful expression showing in his eyes. "As I recall, he didn't much care for it either when he was younger. I'm sure he would have approved, though he would most likely have chosen a nickname having to do with airplanes."

"I have a grandfather?" Tails asked, more than a little excited about having more potential family to find.

"I'm afraid it would be in the past tense," Rosemary interjected. "Miles the First died at the beginning of the Great War."

"Oh," Tails huffed, his excitement ebbing. For a few moments the five Mobians ate in silence. Then Sonic broke in with a new question.

"So, Mr. and Mrs. Prower… Any idea what you're going to do next?" At his question, all three foxes stopped eating, with the elder two looking at each other in somewhat confusion.

"Actually," Rosemary began.

"We're not entirely sure," Amadeus concluded. Sally looked at the two of them.

"What do you mean?"

"We'd originally intended to begin searching for Miles, or at least try to obtain closure by determining what happened to him," Commander Prower answered. "We truthfully thought the search would last for more than a few minutes. As such, when we were asked if we would like to register for housing in the city, we responded in the negative. I'm afraid that for now we don't really know what to do."

"Why don'tcha stay here?" Sonic asked. At the questions, Tails's eyes lit up as he realized the bait the hedgehog was laying.

"Our lack of housing might make that difficult," the male fox pointed out.

"You could stay here," Sally offered. "It would be the least we could do considering the help your son rendered to us during the war." Tails's eyes darted ever so slightly to his parents, betraying only the barest glance of his hopeful expression.

"You would extend us this courtesy?"

"N.I.C.O.L.E., would it be possible to find room in the palace for the Prower's quarters?" Sally asked, seemingly of thin air.

"Infinitely easy, Sally," N.I.C.O.L.E. answered her. "In fact, I have been holding the room across from Miles's own specifically for when they were found. It should only take a day or so to locate suitable furnishings, but for tonight I can find beds and linens… if they decide to accept this offer."

"Well, it's not that simple," Amadeus interjected. "What would we do? I would feel uncomfortable accepting your generosity with no way to repay it, especially since it does not appear you are in need of military commander, especially with General Depardieu's son acting as a military advisor."

"Hey, I'll be the first to give Antoine props for stepping up to the job," Sonic semi-lied, "but you honestly believe he has his Dad's experience? And his Dad didn't come out so good when he got deroboticized." It was true. Despite their best efforts, the former general had been severely damaged during his tenure as a worker-bot. So damaged that the deroboticizer had left him fairly crippled as far as his body's ability function properly. It was not something the Freedom Fighters liked to bring up, especially in the coyote's presence, but it had been something of blow to their morale.

"The truth of the matter, Commander," N.I.C.O.L.E. said, "is that we have been most fortunate as the population regroups during the kingdom's reconstruction. I do not like to broach the subject, but it is my job, and it is only a matter of time before, without some physical ability to enforce the laws of Acorn, a 'rescued' Mobian decides to take advantage of his or her compatriots in an unlawful way."

"I see," the elder fox said. "And I would be expected to deal with this?"

"Not alone, no," Sally answered him. "But, with your training and experience, it is not unfeasible for you to be able to organize and maintain a police force, even if it is only temporary. You would be a big help to us, and be providing a protection for the citizenry."

"You said the need for this would increase as the population returns?" Rosemary asked. "What of the other needs that will arise at that time?"

"What do you mean?" Sally asked, curious as to what the female fox had on her mind.

"Miles cannot be the only child you expect to live here. And at some point we are going to have many more little ones underfoot, a fact that will require some way of educating them. It only takes one generation for knowledge to be irrevocably lost."

"Rosie is currently handling that with the few children we have," Sally admitted. A bright smile came to Rosemary's lips.

"Rosie? As in your nursemaid?" Mrs. Prower said with the delighted chuckle of someone who has received an unexpected surprise. "Oh, it is most excellent to hear that she survived the coup…" Sally smiled back.

"Yes, she was the one who brought us to Knothole in the first place."

"Still I can't help but think she is getting on in years," Rosemary stated, the seriousness returning to her voice for the moment. "I would like to offer whatever assistance I can in her endeavors as a teacher. With any luck having two Mobians doing the job will only improve the effectiveness of the school."

"That sounds like an excellent idea. I'm sure Rosie will be thrilled for the help," Sally said. Suddenly Commander Prower stood up from his seat, extending his hand towards the King and Queen.

"Then I believe we have an accord," he said as Tails's eyes widened in glee. And why shouldn't they, he was getting exactly what he wanted. "My family will remain in Mobotropolis. I must admit to being curious to see how the city will shape up in the years to come."

"Yes," Tails quietly exclaimed, heard only by Sonic who shot the kit a quick wink of approval and a sly thumbs-up. No longer was the kit worried about his future, and thus began to eat his dinner in earnest, finally content with the way his life was turning.

The End…………….?

The New Year Will Tell All….


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Not mine, never mine, life is so unfair! ;;

Author's Note: And thus we come to the conclusion of this little tale. Not bad for something that was never really intended to go beyond chapter one, huh? As always, if you read, please review it would mean a lot. And if everything has gone according to plan you are now reading this as the first update to the Sonic archive of the new year. To all my fans, and even those who are not, I wish a Happy New Year and look forward to writing many brand new stories this year. Until then... So long and thanks for all the fish!!

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Night had fallen over the city of Mobotropolis. Even more than a year after its dominating factories had been forever silenced, a thick layer of smog still hung in the sky over the city, blocking out the stars and nearly even choking off the light of the moon. Still, the moon did provide as certain amount of gentle twilight to the still darkened city.

Inside the royal palace, formerly Robotnik's command center, Sonic sleepily lay in the bed he shared with his new wife, the beautiful Sally Acorn-Hedgehog, Queen of Acorn, the pleasant aroma of her hair wafting into his nostrils as one of his arms was draped over her. A soft snoring emanated from the ground squirrel, indicating that, after the eventful day she'd had, she was now in a blissful and well-deserved slumber. No such sound came from her hedgehog husband, for the simple and sole fact that, though drowsy, he was not yet asleep.

An unfamiliar worry had crept into Sonic's mind, and the fleet-footed Mobian couldn't for the life of him understand why. He certainly felt happy, and why shouldn't he. Everything finally seemed right with the world. Robotnik was gone, Mobius was surely and steadily moving back to the days of freedom it had once enjoyed, and his little buddy's life was finally turning itself around and he was acting like his old self again. Sonic should have been ecstatic.

And yet something was gnawing at the back of his speedy little mind, demanding to be heard. Emerald eyes blinked slowly, wetting themselves as Sonic tried to will himself into La-La Land. Whatever it was that had worked itself into a tizzy slowly began to fade, much to the hedgehog's relief, as he slowly found himself giving way to darkness.

&& && && && &&

_He ran through the forest, following the winding path of the Great River as he did so, an exuberant feeling in his form that only came from flouting authority and breaking the rules. And why shouldn't it? Hadn't Rosie, the children's caretaker, told Sonic hundreds of times to stay away from the river, greatly fearing, and rightfully so, that the eight year old hedgehog would fall into the deeper parts of the winding water, where his lack of swimming skill would result in his premature death. It was something of a point of humiliation for Sonic, being unable to swim, something all of his friends had long since mastered. Oh the young hedgehog had had several opportunities to learn. Rosie, and more recently Rotor, had offered to teach him, happily declaring it to be simultaneously a pleasure and "the easiest thing in the world." But still Sonic refused._

_It wasn't as though Sonic was afraid, at least that wasn't the main reason. The real reason had to do with his now lost, beloved Uncle Chuck. The elder hedgehog had promised to teach his nephew the fine art of aquatic movement, a promise that had been sweetened by the further assurance of teaching the young Mobian a "secret swimming style" known only to his family, a sort of male bonding experience that was as much about fun as it was about a good natured joke at the younger generation's expense. Thus it was that, until such time as the esteemed Sir Charles was restored to him, Sonic refused vehemently to learn to swim. _

_The reason? As charming as it was childish; so long as Uncle Chuck's promise of swimming lessons remained unfulfilled, the universe would be loathe to allow any true and permanent harm to come to him. Such was a child's reasoning, and thus was enough to endure the cheeky laughter and snide comments made of Sonic when he and his friends visited the nearby pond. Still, lack of knowledge did nothing to stem natural curiosity, and for whatever reason the sight of rushing water was a fascinating sight to the hedgehog who was slowly but surely becoming addicted to speed. Thus it was that he found himself breaking the rules and trying to out race the water itself. _

_It was at a bend in the Great River that he heard the noise. It was soft, almost drowned out by the sound of the roaring water, but the hedgehog's ears caught the sound, causing him to stop with a screech. It was a sort of wailing, similar to the sound Antoine made when he awoke from a particularly bad dream, save that it was higher pitched (if that were possible) and more incessant. Blue quills swiveled and turned left and right as Sonic searched from the source of the mewling cry, scanning the trees that surrounded the riverbank and finding nothing. Ears moved independently of his head as he tried to zero in on the sound. It appeared to be coming from the river itself._

_Even more curious now, the small hedgehog walked carefully over to the edge of the river. Centuries of an endless supply of water running its course over this same pathway in the earth had cut a deep groove into the ground which, combined with it being the tail end of the dry season, gave the riverbank a cliff-like appearance that allowed the hedgehog to stare down into the rushing water below. No reeds or jutting roots extended into the clear liquid below, which meant that if any unfortunate had fallen down there, there would have been no way for it remain in one place long enough to emit any sort of cry. That's when hedgehog eyes caught sight of something else, a fairly big hole sitting in the face of the river bank itself. The crying sound still came to the hedgehog's ears, indicating that this was indeed the source of the disturbance. _

_Balancing himself on the edge, Sonic stretched down to look into the hole. It was fairly large, obviously the former home of some aquatic river-dweller, and Sonic found it fairly easy to look inside, especially given the ambient light of the sun shining down on the water. And what he saw made his eyes go wide._

_It was a small fox, wrapped in a blanket and bawling its poor little eyes out, obviously hungry, thirsty, dirty, or otherwise uncomfortable, and doing his best to get someone to rectify the situation for him. Soon baby blue eyes caught sight of the cobalt blue head staring in at him, and immediately the crying stopped. Curious eyes met as the fox cub tried to make sense of this bizarre creature that was apparently hanging upside down before him. Apparently the site of Sonic hanging there proved entertaining enough that the fox released a happy giggle as he clapped his tiny hands._

_"Hey there little guy. Whatcha doin' here?" Sonic asked, not really expecting an answer. As if in response, the kit blew a bubble of spit, an act that made Sonic himself chuckle. "What d'ya say, wanna come outta there?" Without waiting for an answer, and keeping one of his hands planted on terra firma, Sonic reached onto the hole and grabbed a gentle hold of the kit. It wasn't easy, given the odd angle the hedgehog found himself at, but the young fox as light enough to be lifted without too much trouble, especially given that he actually behaved himself and didn't squirm. Finally, both fox and hedgehog were safely up on the bank. Out of the hole, Sonic was able to take a good look at the baby he'd just rescued. It wasn't hard to figure out the foxling's story. Sonic may have been young, but he wasn't ignorant of the world around him. Rosie and some of the other adults had often talked, when they thought none of the children were listening, about seeing refugees fleeing the forces of the evil Robotnik through the Forests. Sometimes the residents of Knothole were able to offer assistance, but more often than not this was simply not the case. It wasn't difficult to imagine a family of foxes, fleeing a squad of SWATbots, stashing their young baby to try to ensure he didn't get captured, fully planning to come back for him once they'd evaded danger… only they'd never come back._

_It didn't take the young hedgehog long to think what most likely happened to them, a thought that filled him with sadness. Alone in the wilderness, even in a forest as nurturing as the Great Forest, it would only be a matter of time before this cub succumbed to the inevitable, either by the hands of the elements or some wild animal looking for an easy meal. Placing his hands under the boy's armpits, Sonic lifted the foxling up to his face and smiled his friendliest, broadest smile._

_"Hey big guy, I bet your hungry aren't you?" Sonic asked, receiving a gurgle in response, which was promptly followed by the groaning sound of a small, empty belly. "I'll take that as a 'yes.' How's about you come home with me, huh? I bet you'd appreciate a warm bed and some real attention." Little arms and legs wiggled excitedly at Sonic's words, which the hedgehog took as an indication of approval for his plan. Holding the baby close to his chest, Sonic prepared to jet off, only to suddenly halt as a curious expression came to his soft muzzle. Carefully the boy turned the baby around and stared at his diapered backside, an amused smirk coming to his face. His curiosity satisfied, Sonic once more prepared to speed off._

_&A fox with two tails… Well ain't that a trip?&_

&& && && && &&

Sonic's eyes shot open as he suddenly sat up in bed, the worry that had been dulling gnawing at his mind now multiplied exponentially as he finally figured it out.

As a child, he'd been afraid of getting punished by Rosie for breaking the rules and going near the river, so much so that he'd never told anyone, even his closest friends what he'd done. When asked where he'd found Tails that day, he'd lied and said the fox kit had been in the bough of a tree, unwilling to think that his disobedience might have been overshadowed by his precious find. As time had pressed onward, the nature of the lie, coupled with the perceived insignificance of the facts, had been largely forgotten by the hedgehog and even he'd come to believe Tails's hiding spot had been dry rather than wet.

But that did not change the truth. Tails's parents had not left him in the bough of a tree, as the foxes Sonic had met today had claimed, they'd hidden him in a nest in the river, where the rushing water would mask his cries and heat signature from SWATbots. And if the two Mobians now claiming to be the Prowers were indeed Tails's parents, they would have been the only two people on Mobius other than Sonic to know that tiny little fact.

Fear welled up in the hedgehog's body. Images of Tails's sleeping form, now bound and gagged, being silently removed from the castle began to cascade into his mind. Thoughts of ransom notes, or worse, appeared unbidden to his frightened mind's eye. Slowly Sonic looked down to his lady wife who, after months of sleeping in the same bed as the notoriously active sleeper that was her husband, had remained asleep. A blue hand reached out to shake her back to wakefulness, but recoiled at the last second. Quietly Sonic swung his feet out of the bed, sliding them expertly into his shoes which remained at his bedside, and he got up.

Freedom Fighter training allowed the King to remain soundless as he sped through the castle halls and towards the room that had been set aside for the Freedom Fighters' youngest member. The door was closed, as was Tails's own custom, and it looked secure, but Sonic's own trepidation did not dissipate. Gently he opened the door, cringing just a little at the quiet creaks it made. Inside he spied the twin sized bed that belonged to the fox, its covers pulled up and over a small body up to the armpits. Tails lay on his mattress, a soft snoring sound escaping his mouth as his chest rose and fell steadily. Underneath the thick comforter, Sonic could see the outline of one of the boy's feet as it kicked a little in the habit of those sharing canine blood. With a soft groan the fox rolled over on his side, turning his back to Sonic as he continued his peaceful slumber.

Satisfied that his friend was, at the moment, safe Sonic retreated from the room, quietly closing the door behind him. Then he turned his attention towards the room directly adjacent; the one that had been given to the "Prowers" as they'd termed themselves. His eyes hardened as he prepared to confront the imposters and demand to know what they were doing. With much less gentleness than he had Tails's door, Sonic opened this new one as well and admitted himself without knocking. Inside he saw two beds that had been pushed together in a manner similar to his own. The sheets had been disheveled and the mattresses dimpled, looking for all intents and purposes as though two adult sized Mobians had slept in them… only there were no foxes anywhere to be seen.

_&What the heck?&_ Sonic asked himself. With a sense of urgency Sonic backed out of the room, and looked up and down the hall. They had to be somewhere, and he was going to find them. Zooming off at a subsonic speed so as not to awaken anyone, Sonic tore through the palace, looking for any sign of the foxes. That was when he noticed the lights were on in the computer room, the generic name given for Robotnik's former command room, which now served as the mainframe for N.I.C.O.L.E.. Inside he saw to foxy forms standing side by side before the big screen. As he stared, the hedgehog's eyes began to widen.

&& && && && &&

"You are a monster, an inhuman monster," the male fox-like worker-bot said as he lay strapped to a metal table, his body practically gone, his pieces resting in silhouettes on a tarp on the floor.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, my dear little fox," Robotnik's dark voice drawled as he looked down upon his latest victim, a smile on his face and a wrench in his hand. "Oh, but I never get tired of listening to such endearing sentiments."

"You won't get away with this Robotnik; there will come a day when I will be avenged." The smiled vanished from Robtonik's face as he continued to stare into the eyes of the roboticized fox.

"I never did like you Amadeus," the human admitted. "You were always so defiant and nosy, a dangerous combination. Oh how it fills me with such joy to know that, no matter what the future may hold, you and your nasty little mate will not be a part of it." The fox smiled, or at least tried to as much as the stiff material of his face coupled with his lack of working circuits would allow.

"You are a fool Robotnik. No matter what you can do, I know in my heart and soul that though I die, my legacy will live on."

"Ah, blind hope," Robotnik smiled. "The last refuge of the dying." With quick motion, the rotund human reached down and gripped the fox's head. "And speaking of your soul…" With a cry of staining metal, the doctor's hands slowly opened the struggling robo-fox's head, the snapping of wires and breaking of circuitry signaling the end of the robot's functionality. From the wrecked automaton, the evil Robotnik extracted a small board, largely undamaged despite the harsh treatment its compartment had suffered. "Let us see if we cannot destroy that as well."

On the screen near where the footage of this barbaric display was playing, N.I.C.O.L.E.'s digital lynx form shivered in disgust. The more she watched this video and its reference companion, the more her despising of the now deceased tyrant grew. Fortunately, this would be the last time she would have to view it, the last time anyone would be able to view it. It may have horrified the computer program, but it did serve as inspiration for her current actions. In the room, her mechanical eyes fell on the two foxes standing stone still before her screen, their dull, lifeless eyes watching the show attentively. They were flawless, their forms drawn from stock footage taken of the real Amadeus and Rosemary Prower while they'd been among the living, as well as their roboticized forms. On two smaller monitors nearby two more digital forms could be seen. Both were obviously based on N.I.C.O.L.E.'s own cyber-space guise, but were older looking, more adult, and one was obviously built around a male type.

"What the frell was that?!" came a voice as the mechanical eyes of the room swiveled to stare at the blue hedgehog that had just entered the room.

"Sonic," the lynx said, her voice indicating no surprise whatsoever at this intrusion into her personal space. The Mobian in question walked up to the two foxes, but his eyes never left what he perceived to be N.I.C.O.L.E.'s as he did so.

"What was that? And what are these?" the hedgehog demanded, his voice indicating that he was very close to his breaking point as far as what he could handle. The two other N.I.C.O.L.E.s looked to their larger counterpart as Sonic's hands touched the warm fur and flesh of the apparently catatonic foxes.

"I will explain, Sonic, but in exchange you must listen. I will answer all of your questions," the large N.I.C.O.L.E. said. "What you just watched was a video log made by the late Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Apparently he made it something of a hobby to disassemble some of the Mobians he'd roboticized. I came across the video archives of this abominable activity some time ago. At first I intended to bring this information to you and Sally so you could decide how to handle it, but two files wound up catching my eye."

"The Prowers'," Sonic supplied.

"Correct. When I learned of their ultimate fate under the doctor's reign, I knew it would not be prudent to make the information public knowledge at the time."

"Why not? We could have handled it."

"Tails could not have. And in all honesty, how long would you have been able to keep the secret from him before changes in your attitudes and perceptions revealed it to him? How would he have reacted to being denied this important data?" Sonic was silent. "So, I decided the need had come to attempt to recreate the two foxes. Robotic technology allowed me to replicate their physical structure from images of the two of them when they were alive, while a tissue sample procured from Tails himself allowed me to create skin, fur, fat, and other superficial biological components to allow them the semblance of life."

"How? When did you have the time? Sal's been keeping you busy for months!"

"I created a copy of myself, and the Kerplopagos Instillation gave me the privacy to prepare them."

"And you just slipped them in with the other Mobians you 'rescued.' And like dummies we bought it hook, line, and sinker," Sonic accused, clearly upset with the computer's actions.

"I am not all that surprised you find this seemingly so unacceptable. Robotnik attempted a cruder version of this before, though his goals and mine were completely divergent," N.I.C.O.L.E. consoled him. "This time the A.I.'s controlling the constructs are copies of my core programming, altered with as much personal information as could be obtained on the Prowers," she continued, indicating the two other N.I.C.O.L.E.s. "And soon I shall add the final touch; culled data from the last remnants of Amadeus and Rosemary Prower's decimated robotic forms." A light came on, illuminating two small bell jars in which rested the shattered shards of what, to Sonic's eye, appeared to be circuits of some kind.

"What…?"

"The last pieces of Amadeus and Rosemary Prower, their CPU motherboards; scavenged from the ruins of Robtonik's empire and painstakingly collected. Robotnik shattered them once he dismantled them, a last sadistic pleasure he took from them. While they are far too damaged to salvage much, I am able to take small remnants of the programming that was their minds. Hopefully I will be able to use it to further upgrade their A.I.s." Sonic stared at the computer lynx in disbelief.

"You're nuts!" he finally accused.

"Hmm?"

"You're trying to replace Tails's parents, and you're getting rid of the proof to boot! What the hell gives you the right?!"  
"Necessity," N.I.C.O.L.E. stated. "I refuse to allow Robotnik's cruelty to claim another life, either figuratively or literally. For all intents and purposes, Commander and Mrs. Prower are alive and currently in Mobotropolis."

"Not if I blab your secret," Sonic retorted, turning to leave.

"That is certainly your prerogative, Sonic, but have you considered the consequences of such an action." The blue hedgehog stopped mid-stride, a sinking feeling in his gut. "Currently, Tails has obtained a break through, reconciling the guilty feelings he's had over not wanting his parents to be found with the guilt he's felt over his treatment of those closest to him. He currently believes his parents to have returned and to have made a decision that will allow him to continue his life here in Mobotropolis without fear of suddenly being uprooted as he was from Knothole."

"But they're not his parents, they're… YOU."

"Only superficially. Once I have completed their programming, they will be more my children than actual copies of me, equipped with enough information to successfully mimic the real Prowers."

"Robotnik tried that with Sally, what makes you think you won't have the same success he did?"

"Robotnik attempted to deceive Sally's closest friends who had shared all the intimate details of her life with a robot programmed solely with cold data. Unlike that incident, no one present, particularly Tails, has any true memory of the Prowers. Beyond that, I can also site several true cases of Mobians who have experienced partial memory loss thanks to undergoing the deroboticization process."

"In short, Sonic," "Amadeus Prower's" body suddenly spoke as it came to life, its A.I. entering, "While we may not be perfect…"

"…we are prepared with a most perfect explanation," the now active "Rosemary Prower" concluded.

"And if you break down? Kinda hard to explain to a doc why you got metal body parts."

"Self repair was easy to accomplish, Sonic," N.I.C.O.L.E. explained. "The difficult part was getting it to stop."

"Stop?"

"No Mobian is immortal, and to allow my creations here to appear so would defeat the purpose for their existence. They have both been given a finite span of time before their bodies begin to shut down from what will appear to be natural causes. At that point, I will find a way to dispose of any physical evidence of the truth of their existence."

"This is insane," Sonic quipped, holding his head as he looked to the floor.

"I assure you it is not," N.I.C.O.L.E. responded. "It is quite sane. I was programmed to place Sally's happiness and well-being as my top priority, a priority I do not fulfill if I allow her to know there was nothing she could do to prevent this."

"And our priority is Miles," R-Amadeus said.

"Originally I thought to let you and Sally in on my plans, hoping the two of you would be able to provide me with a bit more information to fine tune the Prowers, but decided against it."

"Didn't trust us?"

"I didn't want to place the two of you in the awkward situation of having to maintain the deception, particularly you."

"'Cause you knew I wouldn't like this. I still don't."

"And what will you do?" N.I.C.O.L.E. asked her voice inquisitive over the accusatory tone Sonic had taken. "If you reveal my work, I will not deny it, but you will cause Tails an incalculable amount of needless pain, especially given that this is for his own good."

"And if I don't you keep control over Tails, like you been having for these past few months."

"What you see as control, I see as assistance. You yourself have said you aren't ready to be a parent, which would leave the majority of the work for raising Tails on Sally's capable but already taxed shoulders," the computer program pointed out. "However, if, in your heart, you now believe you are now ready and can provide all the support Tails needs to grow up into a fully adjusted adult, then tell me so, and I shall find a way for you to do so."

"You're sick," came Sonic's angry response. As he gazed at the two cyber-organic foxes staring back at him waiting, he felt an ugly trapped feeling in his body. He'd battled the forces of Robotnik for ten years; only to now find himself defeated at the hands of a creature he'd once considered an ally. And there was nothing he could do about it. No way could he allow Tails to know the truth, at least not now. Maybe in a few years when the kid was old enough to fully understand, but now, so soon after he'd finally gotten past his current problems? It would destroy the fox, utterly. Perhaps sensing the hedgehog's consternation, N.I.C.O.L.E. attempted to lift the hedgehog's spirits.

"Please do not mistake this as some sort of malicious plot on my part, Sonic," N.I.C.O.L.E. consoled. "I understand why this is so disquieting, I honestly do. I can see why you don't like this, it rings a great deal of the kind of thing Robotnik would do, but if I could find another, a better way to help, I would have taken it." Sonic stared at the lynx, his eyes clearly communicating that while he wanted to believe her, he didn't truthfully, a fact that, at some basic level of her being, disturbed the lynx.

"So Sonic, the question before you now is, what are you going to do?"

As he stared into the three sets of eyes gazing at him, Sonic realized that, for once in his life, he honestly didn't know.

THE END (for real this time.)


End file.
